Aussie prog 5 piece Voyager hail from Perth in the western reaches of Australia and have been kicking about since 1999. They’ve got 7 full length releases under their belt and ‘Fearless In Love’ is their 8th which includes the track ‘Promise’, Australia’s entry in the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, a track which managed to finish in the top 10. Not bad given how the contest isn’t judged on musical talent but more on some obscure politico-sociological model which makes no sense!
‘Fearless In Love’ is a rather strange album. From the opening seconds of the opening track you would think it is an electronica or synth pop record but as soon as the low register guitars kick in, that perception is instantly turned on its head and you start to see the progressive metal leanings. The keyboard lines help give a big atmosphere to the rumblings of the bass and the cutting guitar sound and comparisons to Devin Townsend’s various musical projects and works come to mind. Vocally expressive, shifting between emotionally charged falsetto and cutting powerful and rich cleans, it has that radio friendly pop vibe but the metallic edge is there under the surface, waiting to hit.
This bright and expressive vocal work, backed up with catchy and infectious hook laden compositions persists throughout the 45 minutes of this album and once you begin to see where the musical elements all line up, you’ve already been caught by the slick melodic work. Darker edges are given to the sound by the lower registers of the guitar parts, deep bass and minimal drum and keyboard parts before they all hit in force to give a big wall of sound like in “Prince Of Fire” and the later stages of “The Lamenting”.
“Ultraviolet” is an electronica inspired track which is supercharged with melodic hooks in the vocals, catchy synth refrains and a massive bassline. “Dreamer” is probably my favourite track on the album. Highly infectious with its rhythmic hook, big catchy vocal lines and the perfect blending of the chunky guitars and 90’s electronica vibes, it is a track cut from the same cloth from which “Promise”, the flagship track of the album is from. A track which again is loaded with catchy pop vibes put to the sounds of metal, coming across as uplifting and energetic.
“Submarine” is heavier than previously mentioned tracks, with the traditional guitar/bass/drum doing most of the legwork. The synth parts give good flavouring and help build moments up whilst the vocals dance across the track, proving to be the perfect contrast to the chunky guitars. “Twisted” is a fantastic track, loaded with energy. Blending elements of late 90’s Dance and electronica music in its tempo, it has a supercharged drive to its tempo which is a fine foil for the big guitars to groove over and the vocals to help give a sense of theatrics to the sound. “Daydream” is an upbeat track which has some great arrangements, blending minimalistic verses with big explosive choruses, letting the bass carry the track for the most part, allowing the vocals and keys to add the flavour whilst the guitars thicken up the big chorus spots and add some slick leads.
“Listen” and “Gren (Fearless In Love)” are final tracks and they form a kind of hybrid 1-2, wherein the tracks don’t flow into each other as such, but have a kind of synergy where it just seems natural for one to end and the other to come in from it. ‘Listen’ is probably the most typical pop-prog song on the album. Musically it has huge ‘Accelerated Evolution’ era Devin Townsend vibes, something which is extremely pleasing to hear as that is my favourite era of DT’s sound. Energetic and atmospheric, the music manages to carry that metal edge whilst retaining a massive melodic hook in its atmosphere and the vocal work helps give the track an emotional edge. As ‘Listen’ fades out, the silence allows ‘Gren’ to come in. A subtle synth arpeggio leads the way for a rich guitar lead and the ambience of the track in these phases helps give it a climactic feel. Soft verses populated by echoing vocals, warm bass and bright keyboard arrangements give way to a steady chorus section. Thick guitars prop up the vocals and an accompanying guitar lead harmonising the vocal line is superbly done. The heavy section comes in before it eases off to the bass/vocal/keys before it climbs back up to the big chorus like section without the vocals before it loops into the vocal led chorus once again. This in turn leads to a big pounding finale with overarching synths, huge stabs of pounding distortion and drums before it tails out into silence.
It took me a fair few listens to get to grips with this album and once I was able to piece together what was going on, I was highly impressed. The compositional work is superb. The dynamics of the sound and use of space within the tracks is on point and the clever blending of pop, elements of electronica and progressive metal makes for a formidable musical force. If you want an uplifting and energetic slice of music which is catchy as hell and impressive, look no further!
(8.5/10 Fraggle)
25/07/2023 at 8:02 am
This sounds like a typical Voyager album – not easy to define what you’re dealing with as it’s commercial and extreme in its way, so as you say needs a few listens to get to grips with it. I look forward to listening to it. Great review!