Once upon a time there was a London metal scene, smug and self-satisfied with the plethora of bands turning out on a weekly basis at venues such as the Red Eye and The Standard. Then in 1999 along came a band called Akercocke, immediately raising the quality threshold for UK extreme metal. Though Akercocke bowed out five albums later out at the zenith of their powers in 2012, two of the retiring line-up had already conspired with allies from As She Screams and Diminished Fifth, creating an altogether different beast in Voices.

Whilst Voices under-rated debut was released with little fanfare by Candlelight Records in 2013, sophomore concept album “London” followed a year later to great acclaim, its sprawling dystopian soundscape capturing the imagination of many a listener. 2018s “Frightened” switched gears with emotionally charged atmospherics sharing the limelight with blackened progressive death metal, and it’s this cinematic aural environment which is further explored on fourth album “Breaking The Trauma Bond”.

The pensive piano notes and junglist breakbeats introducing the title track soon make way for rapid fire percussion and underpinning hypnotic spiralling riffs. These juxtapose with the soulful melodic singing that Peter first displayed with his noughties solo project For The Blind. His familiar mournful growls and torturous howls are also still present, and used to great effect in particular on “An Audience Of Mannequins” and “Ghost City”.

Epic emotive pieces such as “Lilacs In-between”, and “Beckoning Shadows” showcase goth-punk influences such as The Cure and Killing Joke, skilfully blended with the esoteric off-kilter precision death metal drumming that David “Blast Vader” Gray is noted for. Also featuring on this album is a surprising rework of “Petrograph”, which originally appeared as a standalone single in 2017 prior to the release of “Frightened”. It’s a dark, sinister brooding tune that simultaneously bristles with prog metal majestics and razor-sharp delivery.

“Absent Equilibrium” is the closest that Voices get to delivering meat-n-potatoes metal, though the comparatively simple beats and riffage eventually make way for a soaring major key riff and vocals. Away from the blasting, Voices are equally at home with slowed down vulnerable moments such as the short but sweet, Katatonia-esque “My Sick Mind”, the layered vocals lending a haunting choral effect, whilst penultimate track “She Speaks To Him In A Dream” is an almost bittersweet ballad.

One of the (many!) highlights of the album for me is “The Widower”, with its epic orchestral opening segueing effortlessly into a raging metal masterpiece which changes gears several times over the course of five minutes. Album closer “Photographs Of A Storm Passing Overhead” is typical of the downbeat lyrical themes found throughout the album, finishing on the sternly delivered mantra of “life is not worth living”.

As with their previous releases, there is a LOT of music to digest here, and for the sake of brevity this write-up doesn’t delve into every single one of the sixteen tracks. Yet despite the constantly shifting tonal variations and length, the album flows well and never once feels like it’s dragging; there’s absolutely no filler here, every song is a gem.

Voices successfully blend the most outlandish avantgarde black and death metal influences with HUGE catchy hooks such as those found in the chorus’ of “Methods Of Madness” and “Beckoning Shadows” all wrapped up in a package that is hugely cinematic in scope. “Breaking The Trauma Bond” is a welcome late entry to the canon of essential 2021 releases.

(8.5/10 Doogz)

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