This new project brings together three members of Akercocke- drummer David Gray, bass player Peter Benjamin(who now takes on guitar & lead singing duties) and live keyboardist Sam Loynes ( plus non Akercock  member Dan Abela on bass), and I guess really this tell us Akercocke is no more. Voices have labelled themselves as technical avant garde black metal, and while this is a handy enough label for what can be found on their debut album. Much like Akercocke their sound is really very difficult to pin down into one place, as  the band weave their song craft  with elements from all over the place- taking from both metal & other genres too, and that’s what makes this such an enjoyable & re-playable album.

Opening up the album we have “Dnepropetrovsk”, which switches between the perfect storm of galloping blast beats, discordant/ grim guitar harmonics, gruff amassed/ a-speeding vocals. And a more hypnotic speeding dark rock vortex & a deep dark chugging break down in it’s last moments. 

Track number two “Eyes Become Black”, mixers  blacked guitar churns, dark rock metallic’s,  speedy discordant weaved riff pile-ups, clear vocals & darken growls. With a atmospheric & moody chours that takes in pummelling drum beats, dark piano marchers & darkly stern yet sensual female vocals.

Track five “Sexual Isolation” mergers together a verse that  takes in chugging ‘n’ searing blacked mettlics, with swinging dark indie harmonics & guttural vocals. With a chours that summons up churning  New Model Army like  guitar textures, tribal drum pound & a darken/yet up-lifting mix of vocals that take in the  guttural &  rising 1980’s dark male pop crooning.

All nine tracks featured on the album manage to capture the  perfect  mixture of malevolent & brutal technical blacked metal, with more atmospheric & darkly harmonic elements. I guess you’d say the bands sound at the moment is more squarely based in blacked & galloping metal compared with Akercocke’s latter efforts, but of course this is a different band from Akercocke, sure you can hear connections between the two, but Voices  very much have their own sound & identity too.  With  “From The Human Forest Create A Fugue Of Imaginary Rain” Voices have created a distinctive opening shot that is both darkly & brutally satisfying, yet moody & memroble too.