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Votum: Metafiction

26/04/10 || Khlysty

Wikipedia informs us that “Metafiction is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion. It is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in posing questions about the relationship between fiction and reality, usually, irony and self-reflection”. Does this have anything to do with Votum’s most recent endeavor? Fuck if I know, although I think that the fact that this Polish band plays what has come to be known as “prog metal” can be construed as a clue: that is, they always want us to know that, even though bizarre and convoluted in nature, the songs are basically, y’ know, metal. Or vice-versa…

Having spent a lot of my younger years listening to “prog rock” (Pink Floyd of the ‘70s, Jethro Tull, early Genesis, ELP, Yes, Camel, Van Der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, et al), I have developed a bipolar disorder towards all things “proggy”: on one hand, I pretty much like the way “prog” bands develop their songs, I enjoy how they combine and recombine wildly differing musical genres to create pieces of music that are a whole lot bigger than their component parts, how the musicians are great; and, on the other hand, I hate the overblown nature of the music, I despise the way the bands want to be seen as “important” and “serious” and I feel that the whole genre has produced more flops than great records (try driving from Athens to Salonika listening to, e.g., “Tarkus” and then tell me how is it possible to avoid accidents…).

Anyway, it’s been a long time now that quite a few bands in metal have decided to go all “proggy” and mix metal’s snarl and crackle with other music genres –mainly “serious” genres like jazz and orchestral/neoclassical music- to create a kind of music that’s more “brainy” and less brutal than your average metal record. The band members usually have formal musical education and their influences range far and wild. The biggest names of the subgenre are Dream Theater, Mekong Delta, Gamma Ray, Coheed and Cambria, Fates Warning, King’s X etc and, while I admire the chops of these bands, I generally avoid their music since, well, I LIKE MY METAL TO BE METAL, EVEN IF IT’S TOTALLY LEFT-BRAINED AND CHAOTIC AND SHIT LIKE THAT, AND NOT TO BE “SERIOUS” AND “PROGRESSIVE” AND SHIT LIKE THAT.

So, enter Votum and “Metafiction” which is the band’s second full-length. This six-piece from Poland seems to encapsulate all the pros and cons of “prog metal” –and, believe me, I’m using the term “metal” in its most expansive sense, since everything here is pretty much melodic, subdued, almost-acoustic, harmonious and generally harmless, with just a few, ehm, explosive moments here and there, where the guitars acquire some snarl an bite and the pace picks up a bit. The good things, first: the band is proficient, tight and professional to a fault. Songwriting-wise, the guys try and generally succeed in composing interesting melodies, that have little to do with jazz-wankery or excessive show-offishness, but always seem to develop in a more or less linear way. The vocals –usually the low point for such bands- are clean and pleasant and the production is ace: great separation, but not fragmentation of the sound, clean and with great presence, it’s perfect for the music.

Also, while the songs are pretty lengthy –ranging from four to nine-and-a-half minutes-, they are pleasant and, well, inoffensive to these ears. Which brings me to the problems of the record and the style in general. While Votum avoid the pitfalls of look-Ma-what-great-things-the-guys-at-Berklee-taught-me excess –and I’m looking at you, Dream Theater…-, their music is devoid of any surprises that might make the listener perk up and listen more carefully. The changes in tone and mood within each song seem pretty expected and, while I’m no musician to write home about, I felt a bit bored after a while as I was able to guess which way every song would go. The generally subdued and melodic mood of the music is, as I’ve already said, inoffensive; it also gets quite tiresome after a while, to the point that when the guitars got added menace and bottom end I almost felt irritated, as the trick seemed to get stale after a while.

I feel that I’ve already used a lot of space, so let’s get down to the bottom line, shall we? Well, the bottom line is that this is a good record, if one wants one’s “prog metal” as melodic and linear as possible. I feel that Votum will become pretty big after a while, when they’ll start tweaking with tempo, tone and time signature. Also, I feel that, unless needed for GD, I will never again listen to any of their records. I like my metal more metallic, more grimy, more offensive, more in-your-face. Look, I’ll be square with you: to me Sigh is prog metal; Dream Theater –and, for that matter, Votum- is not. So, your choices are pretty clear; it’s just that you need to take sides, OK?…

7,5

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Mystic Production
Website: www.votumband.pl
Band
Maciej Kosinski: vocals
Alek Salamonik: guitar
Adam Kaczmarek: guitar
Zbigniew Szatkowski: keyboards
Bartek Turkowski: bass
Adam Lukaszek: drums

Tracklist
01. Falling dream
02. Glassy essence
03. Home
04. Faces
05. Stranger than fiction
06. Indifferent
07. December 20th

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