Sci-Fi Prog - VOLA "Head Mounted Sideways" - REACTION / REVIEW

[@MJ-vd8bj]

The breakdown at the end is totally nuts

[@jaguar1224]

Core kid here but this channel has gotten me seriously into prog. It's one of my favorite genres now.

[@christopherblowers443]

King Crimson Yes Thats we're prog started Rush Dreamtheater Opeth Porcupine tree Mastodon Haken That will keep you busy for a while Slugdge The faceless Vektor Rivers of nihil All proggy

[@METALBIRB]

As a core kid I recommend Between The Buried And Me, The Human Abstract, The Contortionist, Protest The Hero and Sikth. The rest of the above mentioned bands will come easier haha

[@christopherblowers443]

@@METALBIRB see it was kinda the opposite for me. And now im moving back in that direction.

[@christopherblowers443]

Also every band Metalbirb suggested is great.

[@Beardfish.]

That's awesome to hear. I've been in love with prog since a friend in high school introduced me to Dream Theater. METALBIRB is doing prog a huge service by introducing fans of all sorts of heavy music to it :)

[@GreatLandStander]

If there new album has more tracks like this i can see VOLA becoming a big name in prog metal. I think its a fucking shame and a half that their last album was received so poorly. The prog community has ironically become so rigid in what they want from from the genre. Bands like Voyager, Leprous , and VOLA bring the best elements of pop song writing to prog metal, and at risk of being torn down by the group of snobs that gate keep the genre. I think this kind of stuff is actually pushing the genre forward more than just music with complicated song structures.

[@Laros82]

Yea I agree and thanks for mentioning Voyager been trying to get them on the Channel as they need more exposure imo😊

[@idontcare_wtf]

Well I do think their sound is a lot more solid right now

[@MagnoliaCrimes]

Dude couldn’t have said it any better. “Slave” is one of my top tracks by Leprous so the drop was much appreciated.

[@ewanrhys8097]

You literally named my three favorite prog bands in your comment, that's so awesome 🤙😁 also, totally agree with what you said 👏

[@CollinRapp33]

This exactly! I love the more technical prog bands, but I love this approach to modern prog too.

[@alexloomis4796]

"Your Mind is a Helpless Dreamer" by VOLA is one of their better songs off their first album. This song is great as well, and has first album vibes. Excited for their new album!

[@Varie]

Yessss. My favorite song

[@Joseph-R]

I listen to their live studio session version of Your Mind is a Helpless Dreamer more often than the album version now days. Personally my favorite is A Stare Without Eyes because I can never get enough of that breakdown/scream

[@cerberuscrafts5351]

VOLA is one of my all time favorite bands. You should definitely give them more listens!

[@drauth]

So I've been listening to VOLA for a while, and they're a band that kind of need to be approached on their own terms. I certainly do consider them prog, but not in the same sense as more "virtuoso" groups like Haken or BtBaM. VOLA has always been something like Meshuggah meets Depeche Mode. Their musical innovation doesn't necessarily lie in playing their instruments better than everyone else, or having super complex song structures. Rather, their innovation lies in their ability to come up with wild rhythm sections, while integrating them with beautiful keys and catchy melodic hooks. The music becomes a lot more enjoyable when you take it for what it is, and not what you'd expect it to be given the "prog" label. As always, great review! Hope the hand is healing up well bud ☺

[@ckokomo808]

I remember him not liking one of the songs too much because it get simple. It was funny because one was head bobbing to 4/4 and the other to 3/4 which is what makes them so cool. Their approachability yo Prog makes them really cool.

[@Blazingswordsman]

@@ckokomo808 I agree! Their overall tone is very upbeat and positive too with plenty of depth in the lyrics . Took me a bit to get into them but they hooked me in really hard after a few listens

[@RthereNEusernames]

This is I think the most accurate way to sum VOLA up. I've never been able to put that to words, cheers.

[@goforthandeattacos]

Well said. Once I arrived at that conclusion they eventually became one of my favorite bands.

[@drumkidstu]

Exactly, finally someone who understands this music. They approach music in the exact way Meshuggah does. It's not about being the fastest or the most complex, it's all in the creativity of the composition and the way that the ideas are showcased.

[@SlipknotWarfare73]

Glad to see you gave them another chance after stray the skies, I’ve been listening to these guys for a few years now and this is easily one of their best tracks yet. Excited to see where they’ll go from here

[@padtron7679]

I'm a core kid. This channel has definitely opened me up to prog metal. Its one of my favourite genres now. I listened to The Ocean's latest album all the way through twice. I wouldn't have done that a year ago!

[@METALBIRB]

Seeing this now but these comments are some of my favourite. Thanks for letting me know man!

[@chrisrojas740]

@padtron you gotta check out The Oceans album 'Pelagial'! It's been hailed their masterpiece by many and I would have to agree with that as well

[@mariagheata2133]

„Weird rhythm man“ You don’t know the half of it. *laughs in Owlsrian

[@Marius_ae]

Are we getting more Vola reactions now that the album has dropped? absolutely amazing album, 10/10 for me. Personal favourites out of the new ones are Future Bird and Napalm, but the others are still great.

[@MadailinBurnhope]

"Stray the Skies" is an absolute banger, I hope it's grown on you!

[@Machinae_overture]

honestly the chorus i wasn't too in to, but the intro and first verse are fucking ridiculously sick

[@Jubidar]

True, i was "what is this?!"

[@DavidRiehl756]

Thanks for featuring this song! I have not heard of this band before. I really digged this track.

[@gillesroure]

You should check out Applause of a distant crowd .. killer album!

[@jeefuji]

Ahaha, you're mentioning my boys from The Contortionist :D Always a pleasure to see them receiving love. On VOLA, they always had a special color for me in my musical repertoire, pretty unique feeling when listening to their music. It's just VOLA, doing north European inspired wizardery that sound absolutely awesome. Keep it up man !

[@ben10nnery]

I’m a huuuuge fan of this song and also Whaler. Another banger by them.

[@OrenArieli]

I saw them in concert in Sacramento at a small venue and thought to myself how lucky I was to see them so close up, whereas they deserve such a bigger audience and venue. They were super-tight and didn't disappoint in the slightest.

[@chrisp.14]

"This reminds me of Haken..." ... haha, they played at the end of 2019 together with Haken (and have obviously been influenced here and there) and the awesome Bent Knee. Saw them live back then in Berlin and it was so incredibly good. All three bands....

[@Siendorf]

Anything from the applaud from a distant crowd album is awesome.

[@cameroncorrosive925]

this felt like finding The Contortionist in 2014 lol, this was pretty tight man.

[@vvolves7093]

check out applause of a distant crowd

[@ckokomo808]

Woah, I’m generally pretty on top of new release but this caught me by surprise. Thanks for the video! It was great listening together!

[@terogates1]

Thank you metal bird for showing me this band last year still waiting to share it with my friends but I know they are gonna love this, I wouldn’t know about Vola if it wasn’t for your top 10s

[@BigDenk]

You should check out Until We Die. A melodic/symphonic deathcore solo project by a guy called Niko Apostolakis. He writes some of the sickest riffs in deathcore and has some pretty gnarly vocals. Would love to see a reaction to "Countdown to Extinction or "Distorting of Perception" by him. Also the lyrics are about the Souls games

[@Marius_ae]

Niko is a straight monster. I agree with the recommendations

[@jimberjamber8540]

Pretty much what I expected from VOLA, but in a good way. I'm all about those chunky baritone riffs and the singer/guitar player slays it in that category. It's a nice balance with the synth added.

[@TavitoCarbone]

Thank you for reacting to this! Great review anyways. I hope you check them more in the future.

[@RojuOfficial]

VOLA are awesome! So unique combining many elements into one cohesive package.

[@ronlake7699]

Yay, I doubt it was because I suggested this but I was one of those people so I'm glad you checked it out!😁

[@stevemoore3039]

Love your reviews mate.........VOLA are very exciting for sure. Bit of Tesseract on that bass mixed with Haken and Porcupine Tree!!!

[@noelvaldez96]

I’ve had an aversion to prog for a while, but some of the prog tracks you’ve reacted to on this channel have really opened me up to the genre! Idk if I’ll ever have a love for it like you, but I’m not closed up to it like I used too! Also the chorus on this song is amazing! So gorgeous!

[@Ledjent]

Vola themselves shared this video on their FB! :)

[@adecakaship2486]

I couldn’t have said better myself, Vola is one of my favourite band, and the final fantasy reference is on point! So glad you enjoyed this song because this band is so unique and talented. Also considering some of the other songs you reviewed and enjoyed I knew that if you dug a little deeper into their discography or their newest materiel, that you would enjoy them. 👍👍👍 Awesome review as always.

[@ewanrhys8097]

You should check out the Live From The Pool version of "Stray The Skies" 👀

[@thebuckethatguy]

I know this Came out a while ago, but I’m still going to note that the reason his video was still able to be this extravagant is because this van is from Sweden the country that never went on lockdown.

[@Blazingswordsman]

My next pick for you METALBIRB is Kadinja :D Til the Ground Disappears, The Right Escape, Veronique (Live Playthrough)

[@stri8ted]

+1 Really underrated

[@Blazingswordsman]

@@stri8ted hard agree! I've been listening to them for a good couple of years now! One of my favorite discoveries \m/

[@ethangibbs3688]

When you mentioned that Ex Machina vibe, that was actually the exact same kinda vibe what I was getting when I seen the music video 😂

[@athmaid]

Man please get a pop killer and turn down the microphone gain a bit, it's distorting. Always love finding new music through you. Didn't know Vola released something new so thanks for that, keep the videos coming man

[@Deady5225]

Thanks for all of the discovery lately man, you're killing it! Was wondering if you know Artificial Language? They got me into prog and they're soo good, i would recommend Unself portrait or there's no bottom to this :)

[@gregoryl.levitre9759]

I did the WOO's in the same exact parts of the song. Fuck this is sooooo goddamn awesome!

[@DylNyeTheDrummerGuy]

Subbed awhile ago and now you're showing ME bands lol

[@des_o7935]

Wow that was amazing!

[@gregoryl.levitre9759]

Vola came to 2021 to chew bubble gum and kick ass and they're all outta bubble gum. Seriously, this is the album release of the year, and I don't even care any other releases for the rest of the year. This is IT!

[@TheMartin1308]

Dude i Love do much this song But also i Love your jacket camo !!! What Is the name of this company ?

[@beatnpotatoes]

Fuck ya! Love this band.

[@kenny.m.olsen95]

Vola Represent!

[@sergioprado5231]

Thank you fear factory

[@TundraCH]

Intervals - Lock & Key

[@loz2590]

Starburn and Owls u definitely need to check out

[@andrewstacy3937]

2 of my favorite songs of all time

[@sebastiancontreras3637]

Definitely check out Whaler by them freaking heavy track

[@voidwoken]

YO PLEASE MY DUDE!! if you liked this please check out SYBREED - AEON. most underrated band in the wordl :D amazing soundscape

[@paravarium]

Schweet.. wasn't sure you'd do this one. Liked the song a lot at first and now it's full love. You should check this performance of an older song in your own time kzbin.info/www/bejne/jHTRc4VpZdqVkNU

[@marcusdrew5713]

awesome band!!!!!

[@danielhammerl6134]

What a great track! Could you please react on Neaera-Torchbearer?

[@gillesroure]

Great song but so far, Vola's very best song is Alien Shiver

[@Varie]

Best band

[@AHeroOfTime]

Can we get a DEMATERALIZE track on the channel?

[@sourgummyworms45]

Love that 2nd part with the bendy notes but I wasn't feeling that electronic vocals at the start at all. It definitely had good elements but I'll need to listen again. I'd say I'm a open minded core kid, prog is super welcome to me 🙏

[@-Jake-]

I really wish they didn't do the electronic vocals at the beginning because the rest sounds really good

[@sourgummyworms45]

@@-Jake- exactly what I'm feeling! I can appreciate some electronic elements but it was more like an out of "music experience" hearing it just takes away from the song enjoyment

[@METALBIRB]

I respect your take on the song man. Everyone's different, but yeah I personally really liked the electronic vocals but I can see how some don't

[@prayRRR]

yo Hacktivist - Armoured Core thx

[@Tinfoilpuppy]

R Aye can you do a React to “dead faces” by Nick Nittoli

[@masterchimichanga117]

Woa what kind of music is dis

[@mosesh06]

Redhead guy...where?

[@AHeroOfTime]

Is that you MetalBro?

[@deadroyaltyproductions3061]

We’ve been getting hit pretty bad with a second wave of COVID-19 cases here in Ontario, so it’s been keeping us apart as we’re respecting the guidelines. Hoping things settle down a bit soon though and I can join MetaBirb for some more vids again! Still here supporting the channel in the meantime though :)

[@Joseph-R]

@@deadroyaltyproductions3061 well damn dude, since you're here in the comments, what was your take on this song? How did it compare to the previous VOLA track you heard?

[@deadroyaltyproductions3061]

@@Joseph-R I actually really really liked this one. I feel like it had the same strengths as Stray the Skies such as a super catchy vocal melody in the chorus and really catchy synth/keyboard work, but it also improved in the other areas that I kind of nit picked on with the last one like the production/mix quality. Usually not a big fan of heavy vocal effects but it was done really tastefully in the first verse here, and I’m glad they only had it in the first verse and didn’t go back to it in the second. But yea, really enjoyed this one!

[@peanutwars]

All you guys are enraging me so much am I literally the only one that thinks if you compare this to any song on in mazes it’s trash ? I’m sorry but damn it just sounds like they’re manager said to make a song and they threw it together “verse Chorus verse chorus” just another great band becoming main stream sounding and washed out and uninspired sounding. I promise you if you listen to any one song on in mazes you get the feeling they had a unique idea and took time to make great music and lyrics. But this new song omfg god guys this song is so boring the chorus just like comes in and it’s so meh I’m so confused about everyone enjoying this have you guys heard INMAZES ? Dear god please someone agree with me like I seriously can’t tell if you are all just being nice

[@toesuc]

Glad you enjoyed this! Really looking forward to their new album

[@aboywithhorns]

This vocalist reminds me of Opeth cleans... very cool track

[@Deathlylollipops]

So glad they are getting the recognition they deserve. 🔥❤❤