The genre-welding Danish-Swedish quartet VOLA celebrates the first anniversary of Witness, announcing that they will be releasing a deluxe digital edition that will include bonus tracks. It will be released on 20 May via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group. Ahead of this, they have revealed the video for Napalm (Re-Witnessed) which you watch here.

When it was released, the album was a critical smash, surpassing an incredible 14m streams already, it picked up international acclaim from Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, Distorted Sound and Kerrang Radio & TV in the UK, reaching #7 in the Rock & Metal Charts. They were picked up by SiriusXM for multiple tracks and Metal Radio in the US which saw the album reach the Top 20 in the Current Hard Rock Charts and Top 25 in the New Artist/Heatseekers Album Chart. It also received rave reviews across Europe in Aardschok (The Netherlands), Rock Hard (France), Metal Hammer (Germany) and throughout the press and national radio in their native Denmark. Tracks from the album were also added to numerous playlists across Spotify, Amazon and Apple Music.

The Deluxe digital edition features the special bonus tracks of beautifully tender acoustic takes on “Napalm (Re-Witnessed)” and “Straight Lines (Re-Witnessed)” as well the stunning piano instrumental interpretation of “24 Light-Years (Piano Session)”.

The band have recently wrapped up a run of three shows supporting the legendary Devin Townsend in Dublin, Glasgow and London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall. They will be spending the summer playing festivals, including Roskilde, before they head out on a European 20-date headline run in September and finish at Euroblast Festival on 2 October.  

Witnesscame nearly three years after the release of Applause of a Distant Crowd, which saw the band go deep into the rabbit hole, exploring society’s distractions from thoughtfulness and examining how human relationships have evolved. Witness went a step further, shining a light on the subject of failed relationships on a societal scale—the friction between leaders and followers caused by the misuse of power. They released several videos from the album for “Straight Lines,” “24 Light-Years,” “Head Mounted Sideways”, and “These Black Claws” ft. SHAHMEN.

“If I zoom in,” guitarist-singer Asger Mygind says. “The failure is born from unrequited love, grief, manipulative behaviour and insecurity. Connecting it with the album title, one could view the characters portrayed in the lyrics as witnesses to the dissolution of the bond they have created with people in their lives.”

After returning from their successful 2019 headline tour across Europe, VOLA wrote the songs for the album. The tour had a string of sold-out shows along the way. It capped off an incredible two years of seeing them also tour with Dream Theater, Anathema, Katatonia, Haken, Monuments, and show-stealing performances at Euroblast, Ramblin’ Man Fair, Radar Festival, Bloodstock, Damnation Fest, Tech Fest and more.

Always evocative, VOLA glide along, barely a breath away from its subject matter, holding the listener close and silent as you observe the journey unfold. Their ability to create a cinematic aesthetic allowed you to be a detached observer and enveloped in the narrative.

VOLA are Asger Mygind (vocals/guitar), Martin Werner (keys), Nicolai Mogensen (bass) and Adam Janzi (drums).

VOLA Nordic gigs summer 2022
15 June, Copenhell, Copenhagen, Denmark
16 June, Skansen, Stockholm, Sweden (opening act for YONAKA and Evanescence)
28 June Roskilde festival, Roskilde, Denmark
06 August, SaariHelvetti, Tampere, Finland

European tour autumn/winter 2022

September
09 Munich Feierwerk, Germany
10 Hamburg headCRASH, Germany
11 Berlin Cassiopeia, Germany
12 Krakow Zaścianek, Poland
13 Warsaw Hydrozagadka, Poland
14 Vienna Chelsea, Austria
15 Budapest A38, Hungary
16 Prague Rock Café, Czech republic
17 Milan Legend Club, Italy
18 Aarau KiFF, Switzerland
20 Barcelona Bóveda, Spain
21 Madrid Moby Dick, Spain
22 Toulouse Connexion Live, France
23 Lyon CCO, France
24 Paris Backstage, France
27 Bristol Fleece, U.K.
28 Manchester Rebellion, U.K.
29 London Garage, U.K.
30 Tilburg 013 KZ, Netherlands

October
01 Amsterdam Melkweg OZ, Netherlands
02 Cologne Essigfabrik (Euroblast Festival), Germany

December
09 Studentehuset, Aalborg, Denmark
10 Fonden Vauxhall, Aarhus, Denmark
15 Tobakken, Esbjerg, Danmark
16 Posten, Odense, Denmark
17 Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark

VOLA nnounce the first live release, ‘Live From The Pool’ Out 1 April 2022 Via Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group.

In September 2021, Danish-Swedish quartet VOLA performed an intimate show in a stunning live setting. ‘Live From The Pool’ took place at the swimming pool of the abandoned Auderød military camp in North Zealand near Copenhagen, Denmark. Designed by the world-famous architect Henning Larsen this defunct building has become part of the Auderød nature park. A place where nature encounters the mysteries of a once existing military base, ready to be explored.

Creating a unique experience, the bands’ genre-melding music collaborates with visionary Danish audio-visual artist collective Vertigo, where light, nature, music, and concrete meet.

Talking about the show, Nicolai Mogensen says, “The idea for ‘Live From The Pool’ was conceived at a time where it was particularly hard to be a band with an international fanbase. Due to the Covid-19-pandemic making live shows and touring practically impossible, we were forced to think carefully and creatively about how to reach our listeners in new ways. We wanted to do something spectacular that didn’t seem like a compromise – and with loads of help from talented people, we think we succeeded in creating an online concert experience out of the ordinary.”

He continues, “‘Live From The Pool’ is the biggest production we have ever made as a band, and it was very exciting for us to work with such an extensive set-up. We filmed the entire concert, featuring both new and old material, at an abandoned indoor swimming pool with five cameras and a drone, the scenery lit up by a beautiful light installation, custom-made for this show by the Danish audio-visual artist collective Vertigo.”

The show features incredible performances from their back catalogue, including “Alien Shivers,” “Stray The Skies,” “Whaler,” “Ghosts”, as well as songs from their latest album Witness. Fans outside Denmark can hearnew songs such as “Straight Lines,” “These Black Claws,” Head Mounted Sideways”, and more live for the first time.

Watch the live videos for “Straight Lines” and “Inside Your Fur”

Pre-Order HERE

Track list

1. 24 Light-Years
2. Alien Shivers
3. Head Mounted Sideways
4. Straight Lines
5. Ruby Pool
6. Owls
7. These Black Claws ft. SHAHMEN
8. Gutter Moon (October Session)
9. Ghosts
10. Smartfriend
11. Whaler
12. Inside Your Fur
13. Stray The Skies

VOLA Nordic Tour March 2022

19 On The Rocks, Helsinki, Finland  SOLD OUT
20 Yo Talo, Tampere, Finland 
22 Slaktkyrkan, Stockholm, Sweden
23 John Dee, Oslo, Norway
24 Valand, Gothenburg, Sweden
25 Lille Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark SOLD OUT

Tickets: https://www.volaband.com/tour/

On 11th September, VOLA will perform an intimate but stunning live spectacle – Live from the Pool, where fans can watch the Danish-Swedish quartet perform songs from their back catalogue in a unique setting. They have also revealed an incredible remix of “Straight Lines” by The Algorithm, which you can see here.

‘Live From The Pool’ takes place at the swimming pool of the abandoned Auderød military camp in North Zealand near Copenhagen, Denmark. Designed by the world-famous architect Henning Larsen this defunct building has become part of the Auderød nature park. A place where nature encounters the mysteries of a once existing military base, ready to be explored.

Creating a unique experience, the bands’ genre-melding music is met with collaboration from visionary Danish audio-visual artist collective Vertigo, where light, nature, music, and concrete meet.

Tickets for ‘Live From The Pool’ will be available here. There will be a FAQ on the bands’ website once the show has begun, and there will be a live pre-sale hangout on the bands’ YouTube channel an hour before the show starts. The show will be available for two weeks for those who purchase tickets.

Talking about the upcoming event, Adam Janzi says, “We are ecstatic to invite you to our first-ever online show, ‘VOLA – Live From The Pool.’ It is our most ambitious visual production to date, with a brand-new live set spanning across our discography. This will be your first chance to hear us play songs from Witness live outside of Denmark. If you ever wondered how we sound playing in an abandoned pool full of vegetation, this is your chance to find out.”
 
VOLA has also announced the remix of “Straight Lines” by French Electronic artist, The Algorithm. Talking about the track, Nicolai Mogensen says, “This is our first-ever officially released VOLA remix! We have been curious to hear how Rémi (aka The Algorithm) would remix one of our songs. Excitingly he chose “Straight Lines” to fuse his own unique style with ours. He created a banger of a remix!”

The original version of “Straight Lines” is taken from their new album Witness, released in May. Their new album shines a light on the subject of failed relationships, on a societal scale—the friction between leaders and followers, which is caused by the misuse of power.
 
“If I zoom in,” guitarist-singer Asger Mygind says. “The failure is born from unrequited love, grief, manipulative behaviour and insecurity. Connecting it with the album title, one could view the characters portrayed in the lyrics as being witnesses to the dissolution of the bond they have created with people in their lives.”
 
Discussing the “Straight Lines”, Mygind explains, “Imagine someone being on the run from the authorities. It is becoming increasingly hard for this person to hide, which “running low on straight lines” can be seen as a metaphor. He/she can’t just choose the direct route but has to be creative to escape. Whether the hunt is real or just in the person’s head should be an open question for the listener.”
  
VOLA are Asger Mygind (vocals/guitar), Martin Werner (keys), Nicolai Mogensen (bass) and Adam Janzi (drums).

You can listen to VOLA’s most recent album Witness via Spotify HERE

VOLA will release their upcoming album Witness 21st May 2021 via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group.

Watch the brand new video for These Black Claws here:

Witness comes nearly three years after the release of ‘Applause of a Distant Crowd,’ which saw the band go deep into the rabbit-hole, exploring society’s distractions from thoughtfulness and examined the way human relationships have evolved. Their new album goes a step further, shining a light on the subject of failed relationships, on a societal scale—the friction between leaders and followers, which is caused by the misuse of power.

“If I zoom in,” guitarist-singer Asger Mygind says. “The failure is born from unrequited love, grief, manipulative behaviour and insecurity. Connecting it with the album title, one could view the characters portrayed in the lyrics as being witnesses to the dissolution of the bond they have created with people in their lives.”

The album was produced by the band and it was mixed and mastered by the Grammy nominated Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, The Black Dahlia Murder, Amaranthe).

“These Black Claws” is a metaphor for addiction and the experience of being pulled back through the darkness and features electronic/hip-hop duo, SHAHMEN. Bless (vocalist in SHAHMEN) contributed all the lyrics for his verse. Mygind says, “I think his vocals contribute with a demonic vibe while adding groove to the track. The beat in the verse is very hip hop inspired, so putting rap on top feels like fulfilling the potential of that part.” The lyrics “One straw in the drain/One word that you failed to sustain” echoes over and over before the band rip into a Panzer heavy attack as the song spirals deep into a suffocating heaviness. 

VOLA are Asger Mygind (vocals/guitar), Martin Werner (keys), Nicolai Mogensen (bass) and Adam Janzi (drums).

Track list

1. Straight Lines
2. 24 Light-Years
3. These Black Claws (feat. SHAHMEN)
4. Freak
5. Napalm
6. Future Bird
7. Stone Leader Falling Down
8. Inside Your Fur
9. Head Mounted Sideways