A Classic Post-Punk and Dark Wave Record for VOITH

A fresh EP release from VOITH brings together some of the best elements of post-punk, darkwave, synth-pop, and plenty more as it's all rolled into this five-track release that takes you deeper into its character as it unfolds.

My Shadowblade is a record that features amazing use of synth and key tones that bring to mind elements of old school and fresh synthwave, and darkwave approaches always keeping that edginess on the forefront and a bit of vastness and its underbelly.

One of my favorite aspects about this record is how it gives me bouts of nostalgia because it does draw influence from classic, early to mid-90s post-punk bands, and you can hear that with the guitar parts a lot. The tone and twang of the guitar, touched with reverb effect, brings that post-punk element to light a lot of the time.

Throughout it all, there's always a pop-coated soundscape. You always have songs that are very danceable and catchy, bringing to light plenty of color to go right along with that dark edginess.

The record starts with the title track, and this is perfect as an introduction to the EP simply because it rolls together most of the soundscapes that you're going to be hearing on the record.

You have classic post-punk guitars and an amazing synth line that's just as catchy as the vocals.

Although this track bears a lot of the staples that you're going to hear on the record, this is an EP that you need to listen to all the way through.

There are surprises around the corners, outstanding production approaches, and no two songs are exactly alike, of course.

This is also a great escape, so when you listen to it, it pulls you away from wherever you are and whatever you're doing and puts you in this whole other world for a bit, which is something I consider to be a gift.

The track that follows is called "In The Shadows(We Fall In Love)", and this comes right in with much more of a dark wave feel with driving beats and since, along with expansive synth pads that fill the space and add a lot of that vastness to the track.

The vocals are almost always drenched in reverb, so they sound very distant, and this is also a classic approach, but what I love about this is that it stays true to its form and influences but also breaks a little bit of boundaries in terms of crossing and mending genres.

There is a freedom to how this stuff is written, and a lot of it blends elements of some of those almost gothic underbellies, which is something I definitely loved.

To me, a lot of this record feels cinematic, driving, charismatic, a bit vivacious, and surprising at times.

One of my favorite tracks on the record is actually the last song, which is called "Alone With You".

This is a perfect example of how the record goes from driving since to guitar-based tracks.

The song only incorporates more synth work towards the end and brings in that classic synth pad feel towards the middle. This, to me, is one of the more cinematic tracks, and because it's so clean in comparison to some of the other songs, you can get a better grasp of the vocals and the lyrics here.

This is one of the songs on the release that lets you know a lot of this stuff came from someplace real.

There is personality on the record, and I think that's because the artist pulled it from life experience. Some of this is very emotionally driven but you really have to pay attention to the lyrics to go along with the moods of the songs to pick up on it all.

There are a lot of beautiful layers and textures going on throughout this whole record, and it's one that I was engulfed in quickly.

This felt amazing, and when the record ended, I had to reacclimate myself back to reality.

Again, this was a great escape and a well-woven portrayal of some of my favorite genres growing up.

Listen to this record with headphones on because it's definitely one of the best ways to soak it all in properly.

Don't skip songs, either.

Remember where you heard it first.

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