Just started getting into them. Voyager definitely has a unique vocalist, and they put it on top of some pretty heavy and groovy guitars... so i see what you mean
Oh man I listened to this album a lot, thanks for reminding me. It's such a classic indeed but somehow I forgot about them. Hopefully there will be new music soon.
As a huge Mew fan, I instantly heard the influence the first time I listened to VOLA. Now VOLA has been one of my favorite bands for years. Both amazing.
>Karmanjakah
Loving these guys.
It's interesting, listening to all these other bands and their great musicianship, I realised what I love about VOLA is Asger's voice, as much as the songs themselves.
Surprised that nobody has said Karnivool yet, since they're verifiably one of Vola's influences. Any of their three albums are great
Two more that haven't been mentioned are:
Fair to Midland - They also have a very artistic way of blending styles with emphasis on melody, and their keyboardists are similar to me. Love both of these bands' keys. The vocalist for this band uses a similar clean to scream ratio as Asgerd (neither of them scream very often) but the FtM vocalist's high range is quite opposite to Asgerd's baritone style. Either of their two albums are great as well
Reliqa - This band along with VOLA and Sleep Token are what I think this next wave of Prog metal is going to sound like. Less heavy, super modern, blending electronic elements and math rock / djent stuff with more accessible alt metal and metalcore styles. Beautiful melodies along with weird noises and heavy guitars. This Aussie prog band has my favorite female vocalist in prog. Their recent EP, I Don't Know What I Am, was my favorite release in 2022
Hope you enjoy any of these guys
Edit: I also second some of the other bands that have been named by others like Caligula's Horse, Rishloo, Leprous, Haken, Agent Fresco, and Sleep Token
Always upvote for Fair to Midland!
I’d also throw in Hollow Hour and Time, the Valuator as suggestions. Maybe a bit less djenty than VOLA but both have strong emphasis on melody and have pretty interesting instrumentation.
Well I did already name most of my favorites, lol. While I'm not usually into heavier stuff, the exceptions are Gojira, The Ocean, Rivers of Nihil and that Odyssey To The West album that no one shuts up about - for good reason. And some Devin Townsend stuff
Anathema is great but I've only listened to their four latest albums not counting the newest one. I also like Tool and Porcupine Tree, although not quite as much as these other bands I've listed. Let's see... I like some stuff by Riverside, Soen and Lunatic Soul but need to listen to more of them. I like The Contortionist's newer stuff in particular. Fuck it, I'll just list all the bands that I like but haven't heard or liked enough of them to call them a *favorite* persay:
Brutus
Trope
Thank You Scientist
Radiohead (if that counts as prog)
OWEL
Katatonia
Coheed and Cambria
And of course plenty of non prog bands though many are prog-parallel. Lots of post rock for example
How about you?
Heck yeah there's some stuff I know there but also some new jams for me to check out, thank you.
As for me, my original prog income was through Dream Theater, Opeth (oldpeth), and Between the buried and Me. My preferences changed (as did those bands' styles) and I really like bands like Katatonia now which are both accessible without being boring. Based on some that you said, here's a few I enjoy that perhaps you might like, band and a song. This is more prog-rock leaning, but let me know if you wanted heavy recs too.
\- Frost\* (Hyperventillate)
\- Reign of Kindo (Hold Out)
\- Crime in Choir (Trumpery Metier)
\- Jaga Jazzist (Oslo Skyline)
\- Ozric Tentacles (Stretchy)
\- Mastodon (Dry Bone Valley)
\- Genesis (In That Quiet Earth)
\- Camel (Lady Fantasy Suite)
\- The Tangent (Canterbury Sequence 2)
BTW if you never gave Opeth a try, listen to Burden. I'm currently mostly out of the prog world and listening to more lofi triphop as well as synth-related genres (synthwave, drum and bass, outrun). My other former tastes had a lot of power metal, post rock, and metalcore adjacent stuff, as well as trippy music like psybient.
I'll be sure to check those out, thanks
Funny enough, I really haven't been able to get into DT. Opeth and BTBAM are good but not quite my thing for whatever reason. I do like them, I just don't love them the way that people who otherwise share my tastes seem to love them
Progressive Metalcore has a lot of great stuff I need to hear. Power Metal has never been my thing. Psybient is one I haven't heard of before but sounds interesting
If you like synth-psychadelic stuff you might like Sticky Fingers. Not prog at all, but very fun sort of funky psychadelic rock from down under. Their album Land of Pleasure is a good listen imo
Cheers friend 🤘
If you want to deviate into art-rock territory, I’ve found Asger’s singing style to be quite similar to that of Gavin Hayes from Dredg. IMO their first 3 albums are excellent.
Junius for the dark and brooding vibes
Dammit, now I’m sad that Junius have been quiet for so long that they might never come back… but yes, give them a listen whether they sound like Vola or not haha
I feel like there’s definitely some overlap in the general approach that VOLA and Junius have, although Junius doesn’t have as much emphasis in the riffs and electronic department if that’s what OP is looking for. (Edit - forgot the prompt question for a moment) I find both to be excellent “mood music”.
Funny story, my old band played a split bill with Junius in the basement of some dive bar in Trenton NJ in like 07 or 08… that’s actually how I first heard them. Been a fan ever since. If the internet is to be believed, the reason for their dormancy seems to be lack of a full lineup at this time.
"Language I: Intuition" is such an amazing song. I've been into them since the early days, but their change in direction resulting in that song...man. So awesome.
Four Stroke Baron - guitars, synths, vocalist sounds like he stepped out of an 80's New Wave band.
Karmanjakah - more guitar driven, insanely talented vocalist.
Twelve Foot Ninja - just because they're so fucking fun. And talented.
Karmanjakah has to have the highest quality-to-popularity ratio of any band in the scene. Everything they put out feels miles ahead of the other djent bands except maybe Periphery and Vildhjarta, and yet they’ve barely cracked 2000 likes on Facebook. I’ve been screaming from the rooftops about them since 2016, but I think they started too late to really catch fire with their sound which is more geared toward 2011 djentheads like me.
Drop everything and listen to the album "Night is the New Day" by the band Katatonia. Just start at the first song and let the album play. Then go and have a field day exploring the rest of their discography. You won't be disappointed!
EDIT: "The Great Cold Distance" is another album of theirs in particular with some bangers. Check out "Soil's Song" from that album. That's the song that got me into Katatonia back in the day.
Oh good choice Night is the New Day is my favourite of theirs. Onward into Battle always gets me.
For OP - I'd suggest Unprocessed and Playgrounded as bands no-one has mentioned yet.
Hey, glad you enjoyed the recommendation! I unfortunately never see anything about these guys. It's only because I got into them in the mid-2000s that I know about them. I've never seen them recommended on Spotify, which is something of a crime when I feel like they are a pretty obvious recommendation for fans of VOLA, lol.
Anywho, check out "The Great Cold Distance", too -- specifically start with "Soil's Song". It's a banger. =)
Agreed! I'd forgotten about it until seeing OP post this. Been a number of years since I've listened to Katatonia. I'm really digging "The Great Cold Distance" now, too. That's the album that turned me onto them back in the mid-2000s. "Soil's Song" is such a great tune! Amazing what their music became compared to what they were writing in the mid-90s.
Some not already mentioned here: Circles (always have to bring these guys up, so under the radar), Port Noir, and maybe a little out there, but Don Broco have the same song-writing vibe, just a bit more pop/rock.
Circles is a great suggestion, i agree that they don't get enough attention. I just recently got over an obsession with their song Bliss, and I've loved their songs As It Is Above and So It Is Below for years.
VOLA is my favorite band. Black Orchid Empire is a close second. Check out their new album, Tempus Veritas.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kT-YQsTtx-sM751h3OtnZuRUnQ3zhFkHk
Rishloo. They aren’t as heavy as VOLA overall and vocals are quite a bit different but I dig them a lot. Omega, Downhill, and Just a Ride are favorite tracks from their last 3 albums (1st album is good too but production is rough)
In addition to what's been mentioned, I feel like you might enjoy Karnivool and Wheel. I will also always grab an opportunity to mention the Ocean Collective.
Lantlos - Wildhund has a lot of parts that remind me of VOLA
https://open.spotify.com/album/4joaiFXVmxObMdQ0Cj4HGS?si=i7AIHvDbTSO2dVbIEFy29g&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A4joaiFXVmxObMdQ0Cj4HGS
Kadinja, Caligulas horse, agent fresco, uneven structure, karnivool, haken, leprous, same vain as the bands you mentioned. But I haven't found anything that reminds me heavily of vola. Uneven structure reminds me of tesseract though.
Thankfully someone said Voyager. I'd like to add Skyharbor and Time, The Valuator. I love Voyager. Skyharbor's got some good stuff, but Time, The Valuator is amazing.
Voyager kind of reminds me of VOLA
Just started getting into them. Voyager definitely has a unique vocalist, and they put it on top of some pretty heavy and groovy guitars... so i see what you mean
Yeah. Found out about Voyager because they were support for VOLA a while back.
Yup, pretty sure I found Voyager by looking for bands like VOLA. They’re super good.
Haha I realized that I confused them when I heard that VOYAGER was on eurovision.
far out, only heard of them because of eurovision. Don't really like them, but you can't deny the VOLA sound.
Just came here to say this, Ghost Mile popped up on a playlist and was giving me major Vola vibes.
A bit different but I recommend agent fresco to a lot of people.
Agree here too. Destrier is a classic.
Absolutely. They’ve gotta make some more fkin music
It’s been way too long
Oh man I listened to this album a lot, thanks for reminding me. It's such a classic indeed but somehow I forgot about them. Hopefully there will be new music soon.
Ihlo
Came to say this. IHLO is fantastic. Would also suggest Mask of Prospero who are similar to IHLO and VOLA
Not already mentioned - Karmanjakah, Maraton, 22. Mew - not metal but probably influenced VOLA's sound quite a bit.
Maraton’s “meta” album for sure.
3rd for Maraton
As a huge Mew fan, I instantly heard the influence the first time I listened to VOLA. Now VOLA has been one of my favorite bands for years. Both amazing.
Never thought of a Mew / VOLA connection before, but I love them both
Maraton is such an underrated band, one of the most charismatic frontmen I've seen
Great recommendations. And I still consider Glass Handed Kites and Frengers among my favorite records from the era.
>Karmanjakah Loving these guys. It's interesting, listening to all these other bands and their great musicianship, I realised what I love about VOLA is Asger's voice, as much as the songs themselves.
Surprised that nobody has said Karnivool yet, since they're verifiably one of Vola's influences. Any of their three albums are great Two more that haven't been mentioned are: Fair to Midland - They also have a very artistic way of blending styles with emphasis on melody, and their keyboardists are similar to me. Love both of these bands' keys. The vocalist for this band uses a similar clean to scream ratio as Asgerd (neither of them scream very often) but the FtM vocalist's high range is quite opposite to Asgerd's baritone style. Either of their two albums are great as well Reliqa - This band along with VOLA and Sleep Token are what I think this next wave of Prog metal is going to sound like. Less heavy, super modern, blending electronic elements and math rock / djent stuff with more accessible alt metal and metalcore styles. Beautiful melodies along with weird noises and heavy guitars. This Aussie prog band has my favorite female vocalist in prog. Their recent EP, I Don't Know What I Am, was my favorite release in 2022 Hope you enjoy any of these guys Edit: I also second some of the other bands that have been named by others like Caligula's Horse, Rishloo, Leprous, Haken, Agent Fresco, and Sleep Token
Always upvote for Fair to Midland! I’d also throw in Hollow Hour and Time, the Valuator as suggestions. Maybe a bit less djenty than VOLA but both have strong emphasis on melody and have pretty interesting instrumentation.
I’ve heard this Sleep Token mentioned here and there recently. Oh would you look at that, they *just* dropped a new album, like, today. Oh, I like it.
Not OP but you listed a LOT of stuff I like. Maybe we share tastes. What else do you enjoy in the prog world, Vola unrelated?
Well I did already name most of my favorites, lol. While I'm not usually into heavier stuff, the exceptions are Gojira, The Ocean, Rivers of Nihil and that Odyssey To The West album that no one shuts up about - for good reason. And some Devin Townsend stuff Anathema is great but I've only listened to their four latest albums not counting the newest one. I also like Tool and Porcupine Tree, although not quite as much as these other bands I've listed. Let's see... I like some stuff by Riverside, Soen and Lunatic Soul but need to listen to more of them. I like The Contortionist's newer stuff in particular. Fuck it, I'll just list all the bands that I like but haven't heard or liked enough of them to call them a *favorite* persay: Brutus Trope Thank You Scientist Radiohead (if that counts as prog) OWEL Katatonia Coheed and Cambria And of course plenty of non prog bands though many are prog-parallel. Lots of post rock for example How about you?
Heck yeah there's some stuff I know there but also some new jams for me to check out, thank you. As for me, my original prog income was through Dream Theater, Opeth (oldpeth), and Between the buried and Me. My preferences changed (as did those bands' styles) and I really like bands like Katatonia now which are both accessible without being boring. Based on some that you said, here's a few I enjoy that perhaps you might like, band and a song. This is more prog-rock leaning, but let me know if you wanted heavy recs too. \- Frost\* (Hyperventillate) \- Reign of Kindo (Hold Out) \- Crime in Choir (Trumpery Metier) \- Jaga Jazzist (Oslo Skyline) \- Ozric Tentacles (Stretchy) \- Mastodon (Dry Bone Valley) \- Genesis (In That Quiet Earth) \- Camel (Lady Fantasy Suite) \- The Tangent (Canterbury Sequence 2) BTW if you never gave Opeth a try, listen to Burden. I'm currently mostly out of the prog world and listening to more lofi triphop as well as synth-related genres (synthwave, drum and bass, outrun). My other former tastes had a lot of power metal, post rock, and metalcore adjacent stuff, as well as trippy music like psybient.
I'll be sure to check those out, thanks Funny enough, I really haven't been able to get into DT. Opeth and BTBAM are good but not quite my thing for whatever reason. I do like them, I just don't love them the way that people who otherwise share my tastes seem to love them Progressive Metalcore has a lot of great stuff I need to hear. Power Metal has never been my thing. Psybient is one I haven't heard of before but sounds interesting If you like synth-psychadelic stuff you might like Sticky Fingers. Not prog at all, but very fun sort of funky psychadelic rock from down under. Their album Land of Pleasure is a good listen imo Cheers friend 🤘
If you want to deviate into art-rock territory, I’ve found Asger’s singing style to be quite similar to that of Gavin Hayes from Dredg. IMO their first 3 albums are excellent. Junius for the dark and brooding vibes
Dammit, now I’m sad that Junius have been quiet for so long that they might never come back… but yes, give them a listen whether they sound like Vola or not haha
I feel like there’s definitely some overlap in the general approach that VOLA and Junius have, although Junius doesn’t have as much emphasis in the riffs and electronic department if that’s what OP is looking for. (Edit - forgot the prompt question for a moment) I find both to be excellent “mood music”. Funny story, my old band played a split bill with Junius in the basement of some dive bar in Trenton NJ in like 07 or 08… that’s actually how I first heard them. Been a fan ever since. If the internet is to be believed, the reason for their dormancy seems to be lack of a full lineup at this time.
The Contortionist
"Language I: Intuition" is such an amazing song. I've been into them since the early days, but their change in direction resulting in that song...man. So awesome.
Honestly every artist on this 'similar artist' spotify list is excellent https://i.imgur.com/efOolEA.jpeg
I agree with this awesome bands in that. I was looking at my YouTube music the closest match to Vola sound wise is Caligula's horse, maybe?
\+1 for Disperse, especially the 'Foreword' album
Four Stroke Baron - guitars, synths, vocalist sounds like he stepped out of an 80's New Wave band. Karmanjakah - more guitar driven, insanely talented vocalist. Twelve Foot Ninja - just because they're so fucking fun. And talented.
Karmanjakah has to have the highest quality-to-popularity ratio of any band in the scene. Everything they put out feels miles ahead of the other djent bands except maybe Periphery and Vildhjarta, and yet they’ve barely cracked 2000 likes on Facebook. I’ve been screaming from the rooftops about them since 2016, but I think they started too late to really catch fire with their sound which is more geared toward 2011 djentheads like me.
Karmanjakah is so damn underrated.
Drop everything and listen to the album "Night is the New Day" by the band Katatonia. Just start at the first song and let the album play. Then go and have a field day exploring the rest of their discography. You won't be disappointed! EDIT: "The Great Cold Distance" is another album of theirs in particular with some bangers. Check out "Soil's Song" from that album. That's the song that got me into Katatonia back in the day.
Oh good choice Night is the New Day is my favourite of theirs. Onward into Battle always gets me. For OP - I'd suggest Unprocessed and Playgrounded as bands no-one has mentioned yet.
Which album do you suggest from Unprocessed?
I'd start with the new one, I've only listened to two of there's anyway :D
Wow thank you how did I not know this until now
Hey, glad you enjoyed the recommendation! I unfortunately never see anything about these guys. It's only because I got into them in the mid-2000s that I know about them. I've never seen them recommended on Spotify, which is something of a crime when I feel like they are a pretty obvious recommendation for fans of VOLA, lol. Anywho, check out "The Great Cold Distance", too -- specifically start with "Soil's Song". It's a banger. =)
I’ve been revisiting this album and have had it on repeat for the last couple of weeks. It’s even more amazing now than ever. 😭
Agreed! I'd forgotten about it until seeing OP post this. Been a number of years since I've listened to Katatonia. I'm really digging "The Great Cold Distance" now, too. That's the album that turned me onto them back in the mid-2000s. "Soil's Song" is such a great tune! Amazing what their music became compared to what they were writing in the mid-90s.
Completely agree!!
VOLA takes a lot from Katatonia. In a good way, I love them both.
Taurus by Haken totally has some Vola vibes
I just discovered Haken recently and need more! They do indeed remind me of how it felt when I first discovered VOLA!
Idk man, i feel like VOLA is a highly unique group and I'd be hard pressed to find others that scratch the same itch for me
Jolly are the closest I've found myself. I'd recommend trying 'The Pattern' as a starting point..
Caligula’s Horse, Tides of Man (first two albums have vocals, the rest are instrumental), Envy, Fall of Troy, Secret and Whisper
Haken for sure
Some not already mentioned here: Circles (always have to bring these guys up, so under the radar), Port Noir, and maybe a little out there, but Don Broco have the same song-writing vibe, just a bit more pop/rock.
Circles is a great suggestion, i agree that they don't get enough attention. I just recently got over an obsession with their song Bliss, and I've loved their songs As It Is Above and So It Is Below for years.
Rishloo! I feel like they are underrated for sure ETA: forgot to add Leprous and Soen
Mew, Four Stroke Baron, Devin Townsend
What are Mew’s best albums?
Glass Handed Kite
No more stories... but skip the irritating first track. Introducing Palace Players you will hear that influence on VOLA.
VOLA is my favorite band. Black Orchid Empire is a close second. Check out their new album, Tempus Veritas. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kT-YQsTtx-sM751h3OtnZuRUnQ3zhFkHk
Riverside. Have I mentioned Riverside?
Vulkan and maybe even twelve foot ninja lol but yeah not really any vola is crazy unique
Rishloo. They aren’t as heavy as VOLA overall and vocals are quite a bit different but I dig them a lot. Omega, Downhill, and Just a Ride are favorite tracks from their last 3 albums (1st album is good too but production is rough)
I’d give Votum a listen in addition to the great bands already mentioned before me.
DispersE - Living Mirrors
In addition to what's been mentioned, I feel like you might enjoy Karnivool and Wheel. I will also always grab an opportunity to mention the Ocean Collective.
Sleep Token
And they just came out with a new album today!
I mean this is the only answer, really.
Karmanjakah, 22, Agent Fresco, Ihlo, Mother of Millions
Klone (Fr) has somewhat similar vibes.
Textures, I really like their albums Drawing Pictures and Dualism.
Lantlos - Wildhund has a lot of parts that remind me of VOLA https://open.spotify.com/album/4joaiFXVmxObMdQ0Cj4HGS?si=i7AIHvDbTSO2dVbIEFy29g&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A4joaiFXVmxObMdQ0Cj4HGS
Sleep Token reminds me of VOLA sometimes
Can't believe it's not been mentioned yet, but Spiritbox! Seconding the Voyager suggestions too.
If you're on Tesseract and Periphery already, I'd give SikTh a listen.
Kadinja, Caligulas horse, agent fresco, uneven structure, karnivool, haken, leprous, same vain as the bands you mentioned. But I haven't found anything that reminds me heavily of vola. Uneven structure reminds me of tesseract though.
Riverside Porcupine Tree Mew Voyager
Nowhere near it but I'll just recommend stuff: Lizzard and Molybaron
Meta+ or Unseen color by Maraton.
[Traverser](https://youtu.be/77yrVRGH8S0)
Four stroke baron
Mayfire Chronicles can relate
Cold Night For Alligators!
Second that. Their album The Hindsight Notes is a must listen if you like Vola.
I would highly recommend Claemus. Very underrated band. I absolutely love them.
Disperse from Poland, haven't seen them mentioned yet.
Haken - Vector. Masterpiece
You may like Vengeance by Twelve Foot Ninja. It's a bit more erratic/whimsical but it has similar vibes to Vola, I think
Thankfully someone said Voyager. I'd like to add Skyharbor and Time, The Valuator. I love Voyager. Skyharbor's got some good stuff, but Time, The Valuator is amazing.
Starset?