Philosophobia- the Contstant Void PV036
Philosophobia – The Constant Void Progressive Voyages Review PV036
Reviewing a progressive metal album can be a daunting task. More than any other sub-genre of prog music, prog metal presents a unique set of challenges. Particularly with well-written prog metal, you will encounter massive extremes in almost all “styles”…. Vocals, musicality, tempo, time changes…. They will shift and shake almost non-stop throughout an excellent prog metal offering. And while all of this is most excellent to listen to for the progressive metal connoisseur, it is usually very difficult to put the listen into words adequate to portray any sense of the album to a person effectively. Nonetheless, it is always fun and challenging to try to give you a sense of the awesome power of a good prog metal record.
As Exhibit A, I present to you, dear reader…. Philosophobia.
Hailing from various countries in Europe, the band, consisting of Alex Landenburg (drums), Andreas Ballnus (guitars), Tobias Weisgerber (keys), Domenic Papaemmanouil (vocals) and Sebastian Heuckmann (bass) brings us their sophomore effort, ‘The Constant Void’. And, while there are a few issues here and there that make the record less than perfect, there is still a lot to enjoy here; particularly for fans of the vein of prog metal that incorporates sounds akin to Dream Theater, Queensryche and Pain
Of Salvation.
So…. Join me, won’t you? Let’s find the King of Fools, look deep underneath grassroots, and remember The Forgotten, as we step track by track through Philosophobia’s metal world.
Intro – this is just what it says it is…. An intro, largely devoid of any music, which relies instead on sound and voice. I’m
Not a huge fan of “throwaway” tracks….
That is to say…. Tracks that aren’t really music in any shape or form, so this is a bit off-putting right out of the gate.
King of Fools – we delve quickly into an extremely double bass heavy, straight up “in-your-face” progressive metal feast on the first “track proper”. There isn’t much to break new ground here, but the performances here are quite good; these guys can play…. And it’s effective and fun to listen to as it relentlessly presses us forward. A sort of preliminary offer of what tastes we are to expect on this sonic journey.
The Forgotten, Part 1 – we get a little less metal and a little more progressive rock here. It’s heavy, but it isn’t crushing, before it drops to a great clean part with excellent vocals that slow-build to an open, expansive chorus. We then face the metal head-on as it blitzes with crushing force forward. The vocals take a sinister turn here, style-wise, and complement the dark brood of the music perfectly. Typical alterations occur here between fast beats and slow-half time pounding song sections, before we then drop to a brief but beautiful guitar piece that soon turns into a shred solo of the highest order. This “part 1” has me looking forward to “part 2” later in the track listing.
Inside His Room – we delve into more progressive territory here than the previous two songs. More shifts in time signature, song structure and musical style here make this song more adventuresome than the previous tracks. It’s still got the trademark metal feel, but a little more nuanced, with the drums playing an almost swing-style beat at times, interlacing metal flourishes and then dropping to fantastic metal verses.
Will You Remember? - one of the two “slower” songs on the record, this one carries with it a great feeling of weight and emotion. The drums are understated and a good, consistent backbone to the song’s refrain. Musically this is a more straight-forward affair; the highlight here is the vocals, which start gently and then crescendo the song into open, soaring choruses.
F 40.8 – a well-written instrumental full of prog rock excellence is just what the album needed after the thoughtful pondering of the previous track, and that’s just what we get here. Fantastic keys and synchronized instrumentation are a hallmark of this song. In particular the synths drive the song here, and a little over midway through, we are treated to one of the best extended guitar moments on the record; pulverizing in the best possible way.
Underneath Grassroots – a percussion-free, ballad-style track on a metal album? You betcha…. And this one is fantastic. Excellent guitar work and superb vocals that drip with emotion and feeling, and serve as an excellent precursor to the following track….
The Fall – this is a great track that gives me an idea of what Rush would have sounded like (musically) if they had been a heavier band. The drums anchor the propulsion here, with thoughtful, pensive verses and great vocal harmonies in the choruses. I get heavy Queensryche/Dream Theater vibes with this one. A little overly-long, this track…. With some bridges in the middle of the song that could have been eliminated to make it shorter and more concise…. Especially in light of the behemoth of a track that comes immediately thereafter….
The Forgotten: Part II – at last, we reach the album’s sprawling 20:26 epic track…. Which begins with (literal) thunder and a chorale vocal akin to a church choir. The song proper begins slowly, subtle and deft in its forward creep. As with most sprawling epics…. Particularly those of the progressive metal variety…. The twists and turns; the shifts in mood and tone; the escalations and de-escalations of the metal ferocity are plentiful and hard to fully chart. This concluding opus has both quiet vocal beauty and metal harshness; exquisite melody as well as a pounding and shredding power; reflective musical moments followed by pure metal annihilation. It is, quite frankly…. One HELL of a progressive metal ride, and it is one you must experience sonically; words cannot do it full justice. It is also, far and away, the highlight of the record, and a great way to end the journey.
‘The Constant Void’ is not a perfect record. It suffers from a little bit of musical indulgence in places where it is not necessary…. Musical passages that aren’t needed and vocal lines that tend to over-repeat more than they should; it can be quite derivative of its chief influences; and at times there are moments where the vocals strain to keep up with the mission that the music is on. Nevertheless, this is a solid prog offering, and should be of particular interest to fans of synth-driven metal, and for people who, instead of looking for flash and flair from individual performers, appreciate a band who allows the sum of its parts to be both its focus and its greatest attribute.
Philosophobia accomplishes this with great acuity; their individual performances are quite good, but taken together they are a force to be reckoned with. The result is an album that is a very good sophomore effort from a band well on the way to finding their stride in the progressive metal world. A full listen to the record is worth your time and energy.
For more information, find Philosophobia on their Bandcamp page, or at andreas.ballnus@gmx.de
Author Chris Clark