“Blood has been spilled, I’m saying goodbye for now.”
After many uncertainties following the closure of the show’s originally-booked Heaven venue, we bore witness (ha ha) to VOLA’s first London headliner in over two years at King’s Cross’ legendary Scala club. A significantly smaller venue than originally slated, VOLA’s highly anticipated return to the capital proved to be a far more intimate affair than anticipated, and it was all the better for it, truth be told.
Due to last-minute schedule changes brought upon by Scala’s club night commitments, we were unfortunately unable to catch much of supporting act/Delain alumni Charlotte Wessels, as well as opening act The Intersphere. I feel this is important to note, as while we caught the tail end of Wessels’ set, it certainly wasn’t enough to provide a full and balanced account of what went down. However, our photographer Kieran C. White managed to catch both acts, the photos for which you can view below.
What we certainly were party to, however, was VOLA, and their glorious return following the release of 2024’s stellar Friend of a Phantom – a record we looked quite fondly upon here at Boolin Tunes. Most notably for myself, however, this was the first time I’ve managed to catch VOLA since I began listening to the group back in the throes of lockdown, with the release of their then-recently-released single “Straight Lines”, which stands, alongside a few other cuts from Witness, as some of my favourite tracks released this decade so far.
I feel this context is important to apply, as there was certainly an element of nervous and rabid anticipation from myself – certainly a hefty amount of expectation to live up to. Thankfully, I’m here to report that VOLA surpassed my expectations and then some, with a career-spanning setlist of greatest hits and carefully-selected deep cuts, as well as a great chunk of new material for fans, new and old alike, to get teeth sunk into.
Opening with a slew of some of the biggest bangers across Witness and Friend of a Phantom, VOLA kicked the show off in style, with some of their riffiest, which certainly set the tempo for the evening. Almost as if by magic, this room of mesmerised prog fans turned into a battleground as “Stone Leader Falling Down” kicked in just three tracks into the set, causing a cascading tsunami of fans surrounding the pit to hold onto each other for dear life. It was quite a sight, and such an unforgettable experience – no less due to VOLA’s note-perfect performance and entrancing light show.
To expand upon that, too, some may recognise parts of VOLA’s bespoke visual set up from their legendary live recording, Live From The Pool, back in 2021. Intricately programmed strip lights covered the stage from left to right, and beautifully set the mood – either through chaos or serenity – for each track played. Everything about their set-up, from the visuals to the stellar live mix, felt like it all came together in perfect harmony to create a truly synergistic live show that highlighted and exacerbated VOLA’s stunning performance.
Moving through the set, heavy-hitter highlights such as “These Black Claws” and “Gutter Moon” provided equal measure of beauty and dissonance, whilst reserved cut “Glass Mannequin” gave the audience a moment of reprieve amidst the chaos. Further Phantom cuts like “Cannibal” (which had a surprise feature from Charlotte Wessels) and “Bleed Out”, as well as absolute all-timer “Head Mounted Sideways” furthered the ballistic energy in the room and demonstrated the band’s penchant for a sneaky stank-facing riff amongst all the overt beauty, whilst the mesmerising “24 Light-Years” certainly provided some contrast, and brought the waterworks for a lot of listeners in the room in the process.
The setlist harboured a flow that so perfectly captured what makes VOLA such a special band, demonstrating their brilliant and unique angle on heavy prog, whilst making space the serenity and outright beauty that makes their material so alluring. Each and every member is performing their heart out here, particularly vocalist/guitarist Asger Mygind and drummer Adam Janzi, and that notion comes across in spades throughout.
They closed the set out with some real crowd pleasers, with Phantom lead single “Paper Wolf” leading the charge on the home stretch. Beyond, we’re treated to not only to the one that started it all for me in “Straight Lines”, but the set ends (as I’m told is typical) with Inmazes banger (one of three in this set) “Stray The Skies”. It’s a masterful end to one of the most electrifying sets I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in recent memory, and one that bolsters the notion that VOLA intrinsically understands what their audience wants to hear: the bangers.
Overall, VOLA’s magnificent return to the capital only furthered the notion in my mind that they are one of the greatest forces in prog today. A career-spanning set of some of the greatest hits, as well as some newer bangers and some unexpected deep cuts, if nothing else this set demonstrates that VOLA has a tight grasp on their own identity and exactly what people, from the newest and most casual of fans, to the deepest and most engaged listeners, want to hear. A band almost two decades into their career now, VOLA are proving to be at the absolute top of their game when it comes to their performance and stage show, and this intimate London headliner was an experience I won’t soon forget.
P.S. – Can we get “Your Mind Is A Helpless Dreamer” next time?
This report is by Maximo David with photography by Kieran C. White. Friend of a Phantom is available now via Mascot, and you can find the album here.