Voyager’s V

By SethM

Typically when I review an album by a band with whom I’m not familiar, I make a point of not reading any press release sent out by their management so that I can listen with a completely objective ear.  As soon as the first track of Voyager’s V kicked in, that ear heard what I could only describe as being like “heavy Duran Duran.”

Only after listening to the entire album once through did I look at the press info that I had received…and sure enough, there it was: “DEFTONES’ Chino Moreno recently likened singer Danny Estrin’s vocals to DURAN DURAN’s Simon LeBon.” So apparently I am not the only one who hears the similarity.

Now before you jump to the conclusion that Voyager’s sound reminding me (well, us) of Duran Duran is a bad thing, let me assure you that it is not; first of all, Simon LeBon and his band had a pretty amazing style and, don’t forget, I likened Voyager to a heavy version of Duran Duran, I didn’t say that they were clones… and they are definitely not.  Voyager have their own sound, and it’s pretty damn impressive.  The album is filled with some great guitar riffs and solos, noteworthy drumming, and interesting (in an engaging way) vocals that combine to create a progressive hard pop sound with strong lyrics ~ think Duran Duran meets Depeche Mode and they collide with Dream Theater.  If you’re a prog rock fan, I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t like Voyager and V.  

Since I hadn’t been familiar with Voyager, I’d been missing out for quite a while since V is the  fifth album from this Australian five piece band featuring Daniel Estrin (vocals), Simone Dow (guitars), Scott Kay (guitars), Alex Canion (bass) and Ashley Doodkorte (drums).

V Tracklisting

1. Hyperventilating

2. Breaking Down

3. A Beautiful Mistake

4. Fortune Favors the Blind

5. You the Shallow *

6. Embrace the Limitless

7. Orpheus

8. The Domination Game *

9. Peacekeeper

10. It’s a Wonder *

11. The Morning Light

12. Summer Always Comes Again (the album’s one ballad)

13. Seasons of Age

 * My favorite tracks on the album

Oh, and did I mention that you can stream the entire album, which the band says is “…heavy, groovy and super-catchy…” (and they happen to be right) here  and then order your copy (and some cool merch) here?

Listening to V, released on Nightmare Records, made me think that Voyager probably puts on one hell of a live show  ~ but unfortunately, it doesn’t look like any of us will be able to know for sure anytime soon as they’re only playing Australian and European dates right now.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they have plans to tour the US in the near future (this bit of trivia should tell you how US fans would react to the news of a North American tour:  the band broke the record for the longest fan signing session in the 12 year history of America’s “Progpower Festival”).  In the meantime, have a look at their video for “Hyperventilating.” 

Check out Voyager’s website and Like them on Facebook  ~ and don’t forget to Like FlashWounds, too!