Now, Voyager is a young band out of Brussels, and even though their EP, ‘Seas’ is all they have under their belts, they’ve already shared the stage with heavy hitters like Devil Wears Prada and Memphis May Fire. This Belgian hardcore outfit shares their penchant for intense screaming and truly haunting instrumentals on their five-song EP ‘Seas.’
The EP starts off with a bang with chaotic screaming on ‘The Surface’ but that’s really all it gives you. It sounds a bit dark and ominous and there’s not a lot going on, but luckily this isn’t all Now, Voyager has to offer. The following track, ‘Seas’, fades in with strings and bells with a celestial, dreamy sound that builds to something dark with a hint of melancholy. This instrumental track is a complete flip from the previous song and is done extremely well.
<a href=“http://wearenowvoyager.bandcamp.com/album/seas” data-mce-href=“http://wearenowvoyager.bandcamp.com/album/seas”>Seas by Now, Voyager</a>
This flip-flop of intense hardcore to a dreamlike instrumental track defines the bi-polar nature of this EP. It doesn’t seem like this band has a true handle on what kind of sound they want to give us. The next track, ‘To Every Beginning,’ sounds very much like the first song, with frenetic guitar riffs and crashing drums but with a healthy dose of generic screaming. Then skip to the last track, ‘Tabula Rasa,’ an extremely well done track with very interesting guitars, bright-sounding electronic elements, and beautiful clean vocals. It is so completely different than the heavy songs on this EP. It is such an excellent song that it is strange that the rest of the EP doesn’t sound like this.
This is the main issue with ‘Seas.’ The weird flip-flopping of styles doesn’t mesh well except for ‘Tabula Rasa,’ which integrates the heavy with the light. While it is the best song on the EP, the whole EP should sound like this. This is a stand out song that is unique without being weird and presents the entire band’s abilities in a few minutes, rather than the switching up of styles. If Now, Voyager can make more songs like this one, their next release will surely be successful.
2.5/5
‘Seas’ EP by Now, Voyager is available now on Bandcamp.
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Words by Jenny Gagas (@Jenny_herself)
