Review Summary: Calling on the extraterrestrial.
Votum picked an odd point in their career to experiment. The Polish quintet treaded on ethereal ground with their third album,
Harvest Moon, exuding a concise blend of progressive melodies, imprinting an almost immediate sense of nostalgia on the listener. This was as good an album as any for Votum to build their subsequent works around. And though they haven't completely abandoned their former foundations,
:KTONIK: is hardly what springs to mind when thinking of a sibling piece. Yet to deny
:KTONIK: an objective chance is to deny ourselves the chance to enjoy something different, something that could quite possibly be a bit better.
:KTONIK: sees Votum part ways with two band members, with the key exchange being vocalist Bartosz Sobieraj for Miciej Kosinski. This switch isn't exactly negligible, especially when considering how the entire album has been constructed. Sobieraj emits a certain presence, a gravity that's reverberated throughout the entire album. He tends to showcase his palette in every song, be it in slow, collected whispers or clean, escalating yells, usually to punctuate the track. Too often we see bands welcome a new vocalist, but forgo taking the necessary steps to let them complement the music (and vice versa). Votum are acutely aware of this. Accomodating Sobieraj's more post-oriented vocal style is the best argument one can make when justifying Votum's newfound direction. Consequently, we have an album that's a bit more Katatonia than strictly Riverside, complete with an ongoing inclination to keep things heavy. This can definitely work in the band's favor, impressively evidenced in the final minute of "Blackened Tree." Another notable example, "Spiral," provides just enough subtle, psychedelic notes to serve as an adequate appetizer for the entire album. The similarly nocturnal "Satellite," which opens the album, showcases a build-up effect
:KTONIK: occasions to fall back on. These moments are when the new Votum truly shine.
Unfortunately, Votum don't always play to their strengths, and
:KTONIK: slumps enough to drag its stronger material down. The first two tracks, "Satellite" and "Greed," are together a perfect example of how the album's strong and weak moments contrast one another. Where "Satellite" fires all the right cylinders, from the aforementioned climb in intensity to the atmospheric acoustics, "Greed" grinds and meanders around. We see this repeated to an even less consistent degree on "Simulacra," which for all intents and purposes climaxes the album with an aggression that almost feels out of place. Sandwiched between this and the borderline dual-fillers "Horizontal" and "Vertical" is "Prometheus," arguably the album's crowning achievement. From the chill of the opening keys to Sobieraj's alluring lines, one can't help but be drawn into the track and long for more of the same. That is perhaps
:KTONIK:'s most tragic quality, the fact it brings moments of inspiration, longing and curiosity while serving equal shares of unfulfillment and borderline despondency.
Variety and atmosphere are the words that one might use to describe the approach Votum are taking, especially with the path they've recently taken. A sense of avoiding the same rhythm is commendable, but not always the wisest choice to make. Even in its own confines,
:KTONIK: could benefit from a more confident stake in style, one that embraces its strengths and builds every track around them. With that, some restraint on the heavier moments and a little track reorganization--to let the entire album build with each subsequent song,
:KTONIK: could've been a resounding achievement. As it stands, there's simply too much interference to make out the otherwise promising signal.
