On the follow-up to the dream-busting Witness, Danish-Swedish quartet VOLA have worked hard to perfect their sound but have also been focused on not creating a direct sequel. Frontman Asger Mygind shares the secrets of their success and details the story behind their new studio album, Friend Of A Phantom.
“It was a bit difficult to write this album,” says VOLA singer and guitarist Asger Mygind. “Witness fulfilled many dreams I had about making an album. I was extremely happy about the mix; so, personally, I was in doubt about where to go after that.”
When Witness came out in 2021 it was a crushing sonic assault that perfectly demonstrated the quartet’s ability to experiment in a sophisticated yet daring way – bringing progressive tech metal, alt rock and electronica to the table before slamming anthemic choruses alongside its core elements.
Their limited initial shows in support of the release were all seated, due to the pandemic. “Many of the gigs we wanted to do that year were pushed to 2022,” Mygind says. “It became a very long touring period, and that made it difficult to choose when to begin on the next album. We had to start writing at some point; at the same time, we were still in the Witness album cycle. It was difficult to focus on either thing.”
That album received an impeccable fan reception, and ramped up support from further afield; and It all began with the first single, Head Mounted Sideways, released at the end of 2020. “It was nice to see how people reacted,” Mygind says. “I started to really get my hopes up in terms of how the rest of the album would be received. It was a good beacon for my hopes.”
Witness presented VOLA with some incredible opportunities, playing festivals such as Euroblast, Alcatraz, Summer Breeze, Brutal Assault, Roskilde, Copenhell and ArcTanGent, and even opening for Devin Townsend at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Mygind believes the success of Witness stems from the sonic adjustments made by Jacob Hansen (Epica, Volbeat) during the mixing and mastering process.
“He has this very high-fidelity sound. It’s very detailed; it’s very big. I think he made us sound bigger than we did on our previous albums – and also more accessible. I think our songwriting approach was pretty much the same as it’s always been. He was just able to wrap it in a nicer package.”
New album Friend Of A Phantom kicks in harder than ever; but it took Mygind a while to find his direction. “I was searching for a way into the songwriting and going down some dead ends – I was trying too hard to make something that was different; to not be Witness Part Two. We want to create something different each time, because it’s the most fun.
The spectrum of aggression is bigger than on Witness – but the sound is not that far away
“In the end, we just started writing the best songs we could, not thinking about what sort of vibe they had. We were just writing and being very critical about what we wrote.”
As a result, Friend Of A Phantom is a diverse record. The softer areas are much more delicate, melodic and accessible, but the heavier parts are much more extreme, with Mygind’s harsh vocals becoming more prominent.
“Earlier on it had mostly just been a scream here and there,” he says. “But now I’m actually screaming several lines of lyrics. I think the spectrum of aggression, you could say, is bigger than on Witness – but the sound is not that far from it because it’s still Jacob Hansen mixing.”
Mygind says of VOLA’s attempt to achieve balance: “It’s always the big question. Usually, when we make an album it’s a reaction to what we did earlier. Applause Of A Distant Crowd was a bit more indie-sounding, I’d say, than the album that came before that, Inmazes. Witness was more hi-fi than Applause Of A Distant Crowd. It always feels natural try a contrast to the album before. That was a bit more difficult to find this time.”
Paper Wolf, the lead single from Friend Of A Phantom, shot past half a million views on YouTube alone. When the band appeared at Radar Festival last summer, they drew one of the biggest crowds of the weekend. “Our singles have had a good reception and we’re getting booked for some great festivals,” Mygind says. “There are people out there enjoying it – thankfully!”
It’s hardly surprising, then, that VOLA are capturing the attention of big names in the alternative music industry. On Friend Of A Phantom, the band collaborates with vocalist Anders Fridén from melodic death metal band In Flames. “That started in the Witness album cycle, when I noticed that Anders had shared Straight Lines on his Instagram,” Mygind says.
“It was just an image from the artwork or something, and saying he enjoyed the song. When we toured in North America last year, he came to the show in Los Angeles and we met backstage, and he talked about how much they liked VOLA, which was amazing!
“Back in Denmark, when we recorded the album, we started talking about Cannibal, and how it would be cool to have someone scream in the chorus. While I’d done something in the demo, we thought it would be nice if we could get someone that could do it better. Anders’ name came up pretty quickly.
It’s easy to feel like you have to come up with something new for every part of the song … it often gives the best results to go the other way
“It got expanded to him screaming in the second verse and doing parts here and there, and some of it was things he came up with in the studio. He was really enthusiastic about it; he recorded the files in Sweden and sent them to me. I produced it, we got it mixed, and we’re super-excited about the results.”
After 18 years together, VOLA have assembled a collection of tools and tricks when it comes to songwriting. Finding an adjusted approach to their music is part of that – and since Mygind recently became a father for the first time, there are plenty of adjustments to use as inspiration for future material.
“If you have a certain rhythm, use that again in the verse, and then use some of the verse in the chorus, and use some of that again in the next part,” he says. “Find a red thread in the songs, and reuse your ideas.
“It can be really powerful – it’ll give the ear something familiar to hold on to throughout. It’s easy to feel like you have to come up with something new for every part of the song.
“But it often gives the best results to go the other way: see how much you can reuse. You can start up by having it in the guitars, and then when you go to the chorus the keyboard takes over. It’s there all the time – but it has a different feel and a different sound.”
