Album Review: "s/t" by Volker

s/t

A lifetime ago, I was an "aspiring" "musician." Meaning, I played guitar in a band.

That band had major success by getting our "single" played on the community college radio station in the northern part of our fair city. The "singer" was a dj there, but I'm certain that had nothing to do with it.

Well, I was being "interviewed" on the station and I was flipping through albums in the control room. There was a band, and their name has been long forgotten, where the singer was wearing a t-shirt that said "Another Female Fronted Band."

I think they were on Atlantic Records.

Anyway, what was then a small fire beginning to burn in rock music was the advent of women asserting themselves. Whereas Arch Enemy, The Agonist, etc are great bands, aside from Obituary, I kind of look down on death metal bands where the singer doesn't play an instrument.

Volker

So, here we have another death metal band with a female vocalist right?

Unlike certain others, the vocalist's range is just as broad as the rest of the band. Melodies, growls, and screams of anger that would curl a pit bull's toes.

Volker's announcing themselves to the world with authority.

The music of this band is more symbiotic than the medichlorians and Anakin Skwalker. When the singer breathes, the band slows down. When she bursts with fury, they explode.

Truly exemplary.

Metallica has never had this sort of connection between all four members of the group. Lars and James have always been two parts, but what if the whole band could work together?

They are more than just death metal or metal. At no point does this band really say we are this or we are that. Striding across all lands of metal they simply are whom they are.

Volker could have easily been called Voltron.

Strong influences from 70's rock, 90's metal, and gothic rock all coalesce into this group.

s/t is a brief hello and we look forward to their proper LP release in 2017.

Release: 4/8/16
Genre: Metal
Label: Kaotoxin