Incoming! Voice: Holy or Damned

 

Album out on July 12, 2024

Heavy Metal • Germany 64:53 Min. (CD) - 48:00 Min. (LP) CD Digipak • Ltd. Vinyl LP • Digital

Producers: Mirko Hofmann & Voice Mixing: Mirko Hofmann

Mastering: Jaakko Viitalähde / Virtalähde Mastering Cover Artwork: Thommy Neuhierl

https://voice-metal.com https://www.facebook.com/VOICEmetalband https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT-OgPLM-g81YrWIQvIgrkw

CD Digipak

1. Nevermore

2. The Silence of Prescience

3. In This World

4. Dream On

5. Schizo Dialogues

6. Tears in the Dust

7. Chatroom Whispering

8. Privateer (Bonus Track)

9. Let's Go Ahead (Bonus Track) 10. Only Grey Remain (Bonus Track) 11. Petrified Dreams

Ltd. Vinyl LP

A-Side

Nevermore • The Silence Of Prescience In This World • Tears In The Dust

B-Side

Schizo Dialogues • Dream On Chatroom Whispering • Petrified Dreams

ALBUM LINE-UP

Oliver Glas - Vocals

Thommy Neuhierl - Guitars, Keyboards Rainer Wild - Guitars

Sören Glas - Bass

Sven "Leo" Leonhardt - Drums

GUEST MUSICIANS

Ragnar Zolberg (Sign, ex-Pain Of Salvation)

Guitar solo on "Dream On"

Hans-Jürgen "Jäcki" Reznicek (Silly)

Fretless bass on "Tears In The Dust"

Fredy Adler

Piano on "Petrified Dreams"

VOICE return with an album that will make every metal fan's heart beat faster!

After their successful comeback in 2017 with the album "The Storm", they now return to their roots and present a multi-faceted new album, in which each song seamlessly flows into the next, while the arc of suspense is continuously maintained.

This work undoubtedly belongs in the collection of every metalhead who appreciates catchy hook-lines, a well thought-out musical concept and an impressive production.

The lyrics on the album deal with the highs and lows of human existence. They are about being loved and hated, and show how our view of the world can change in a matter of seconds.

With "Holy Or Damned", the band captures the essence of over 30 years of musical creativity.

Tracks:

1. Nevermore

2. The Silence of Prescience

3. In This World

4. Dream On

5. Schizo Dialogues

6. Tears in the Dust

7. Chatroom Whispering

8. Privateer (Bonus Track)

9. Let's Go Ahead (Bonus Track) 10. Only Grey Remain (Bonus Track) 11. Petrified Dreams

Ltd. Vinyl LP

A-Side

Nevermore • The Silence Of Prescience In This World • Tears In The Dust

B-Side

Schizo Dialogues • Dream On Chatroom Whispering • Petrified Dreams

ALBUM LINE-UP

Oliver Glas - Vocals

Thommy Neuhierl - Guitars, Keyboards Rainer Wild - Guitars

Sören Glas - Bass

Sven "Leo" Leonhardt - Drums

GUEST MUSICIANS

Ragnar Zolberg (Sign, ex-Pain Of Salvation)

Guitar solo on "Dream On"

Hans-Jürgen "Jäcki" Reznicek (Silly)

Fretless bass on "Tears In The Dust"

Fredy Adler

Piano on "Petrified Dreams"

    

Particularly noteworthy are the guest musicians that VOICE has invited on this album: Guitarist Ragnar Zolberg (Sign, ex-Pain Of Salvation) enriches the song "Dream On" with his solo. Equally impressive is the contribution on bass by Hans-Jürgen "Jäcki" Reznicek (Silly) on the song "Tears In The Dust".

At a time when music is often only consumed in a rush and on the fly, VOICE encourages listeners to consciously take their time, because "Holy Or Damned" is more than just an album - it is a journey that should be experienced with all senses.

Nevermore

SONG BREAKDOWN

(provided by Thommy Neuhierl)

Assassinations and terrorist attacks that affect people like you and me are happening all over the world. The targets are not politicians or military organizations, but private individuals, families, women, men, and children. It is reported in the media for a few days but then it is forgotten. Those affected are left behind with their pain.

The song is about a father who is torn between memories, anger, hatred, and forgiveness. These different emotional states are also reflected in the musical composition of the song. In the middle section, various sound effects are incorporated that give rise to suspicions. Ultimately, however, it remains open as to which path the father has chosen.

The Silence Of Prescience

You know it yourself, there are places or moments where you feel uncomfortable, and you don't know why. You constantly have the urge to turn around or hear noises that make you feel insecure.

But there are also people who live in such a world all the time, limiting themselves more and more, and forgetting about real life because of all the fear. They are trapped in an illusory world of fears and lose contact with the people around them and a clear view of the everyday course of things in this world.

In This World

It depends very much on where and into what circumstances you are born. This environment shapes a person, and often you can't find a way out. But there are also events, people or memories that can show you a new path. It is easy to give in to the flow of the world around you, but it takes courage to break out, to find your own way, to break away from people who are not good for you, to start anew.

The song is about a gang member in one of the world's slums. Caught between violence and drugs, he remembers words that were once spoken to him as a child.

Dream On

I love the sea and admire the courage of the seafarers who set out to discover new lands. There were nations that did this for profit, but also people for whom the living space had become too small, or who were in search of a new life. Inspired by old stories and legends, they boarded their boats and set off on a journey into the unknown. Storms, currents, huge waves, and on the horizon only the blue of the sea. At night, they followed the stars and trusted in their gods. Always hoping that the next day, somewhere in the distance, a new land and a new life would come into sight.

Schizo Dialogues

This song is about people in the community who feel compelled to exercise power. Who are convinced that they were born to rule over others. Who are convinced that this power was given to them by dark forces to fulfill a supernatural mission. On the other hand, when they are alone and on their own, they fear the darkness, their own weaknesses and are consumed by doubt. This insecurity then drives them to become more and more extreme in their exercise of power, which ultimately ends in a spiral of violence and fear that engulfs them and the people around them.

Tears In The Dust

We are all not getting younger, and as we get older, we realize more and more how our bodies are deteriorating and how our familiar surroundings are changing. Bad memories fade more and more, leaving a golden glow from the past of good times spent with family and friends. But one should be positive and continue to participate in life because this stage of existence is also part of a life's journey.

The song also builds up dramaturgically and dynamically like a life story; starting gently with children's choirs, moving on to slight dissonances in the transition to the faster part, right up to the end with the last breath. If you really listen to it, everyone can surely find parallels to their own way of life.

Chatroom Whispering

The internet certainly has great advantages; knowledge available 24/7, impressions from faraway countries that appear on your screen with just a few clicks. A recipe here, an order there and the most diverse views and opinions on all topics in the world. But there is also this dark world: Guys who hang out in their darkened rooms and have laid out their nets to make a quick buck with little effort. The smart businessman who indulges his deviant sexual desires after work, and of course the agitators, provocateurs and morons who know nothing about real life, and only want to spread their hatred.

Privateer (Bonus Track)

Pirates, privateers and buccaneers - a theme that has been chased through all the genres of music. Filmed a thousand times, but always exciting and romantic at the same time. Everyday life was certainly different, with one foot always under the gallows, swimming somewhere in the ocean or feeling the whip in some penal colony. Tired of the meager life in the merchant navy or on a warship, it was certainly the only way out for many sailors. As privateers with the permission of a ruler, they were even legitimized to bring violence and bloodshed into the world's oceans. Of course, this song rattles through from beginning to end in the old shanty manner. Ahoy!

Let’s Go Ahead (Bonus Track)

In this song, we hold up a mirror to society with a slightly sarcastic note.

Actually, we all know what's wrong with most things, but there's always an excuse to let it go or not to take the first step. On the other hand, when we sit in our quiet little rooms, we long for the perfect world and hope that everything will be fine and that we can carry on as before. Everything is so convoluted and confused that a way out doesn't seem possible, so let's go ahead ... and that closes the circle again.

Only Grey Remain (Bonus Track)

If I take the average consumer in our hemisphere as my starting point, everyone has created their own little world at home, in which they eke out an existence. On the one hand you feel safe and secure, on the other hand you would like to break out but are afraid of losing some of your prosperity in the process. You build castles in the air and dream of a different life, but somehow you end up back in the same everyday routine... and only grey remain. You realize that you are running out of time and in the end, one person is glad that they stayed in their golden cage and the other reproaches themselves in old age for not having had the courage to take a different path. But in the end you should actually be glad that you had a choice, unfortunately there are many people who are forced into their fate and cannot determine their own path.

Like life itself, this song is multi-faceted and very dynamic in its composition.

Petrified Dreams

The inspiration for these lyrics comes from the Bible, the escape of Lot and his family from the burning city of Sodom. God forbids them to turn back to the wicked city. Lot's wife does it anyway - and freezes to a pillar of salt. I then spun this thought further.

Being trapped in a stone, still aware of everything around you, but no longer having any influence on anything. Only having the sins of the past in front of your eyes and the self-accusation of having missed the chance to change everything for the better in time.

I needed depth for this topic, and was musically inspired by metal music of the early days.

It's certainly a challenge to play ultra-high-speed metal songs precisely and to the point, but keeping the groove and dynamics in a pounding and sustained song like "Petrified Dreams" definitely has its balls too.