Voices Enacts the Bizarre for "An Audience of Mannequins" (Full EP Stream)

If variety is the spice of life, then we can certainly learn about living from England’s Voices. Featuring members of the famed and also incredibly varied Akercocke, it’s no wonder that this four-piece progressive black/death metal band would have a multifaceted sound, and yet new Voices EP An Audience of Mannequins moves in unexpected ways. Though undeniably a blackened death metal EP (sort of) with extra-genre influences, it’s the homages Voices makes throughout this release, especially second track “Hostile Confrontations'” overt tribute to the sadly passed Scott Walker (vocalist Peter Benjamin does an incredible impression, down to the phrasing and obfuscated lyrics) or “A Comfortable Distance'”s Talk Talk-isms, An Audience of Mannequins portrays Voices as more than just a metal band. In fact, only one song on this release is actually metal, and the eponymous track’s chugging, bizarre, and overtly metallic approach acts in direct contrast with the release’s other 66.6%.

An Audience of Mannequins is a pleasant oddity in a pretty cool band’s ever-increasing discography, and while I might have been expecting more metal from this than the debut single (which was actually a charity project!), Voices’ fearlessness on this EP proves they waste not in their vast world of influences. Listen to An Audience of Mannequins in full below.

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An Audience of Mannequins is out today on Church Road Records.

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