Vougan - Silent Souls
What a debut! Vougan is a Brazilian power metal quintet that impresses mightily on the Silent Souls EP, available as a free download. The EP contains five tracks – an instrumental plus two fast and two slow tunes. The faster numbers have hints of Priest, as well as other unexpected bits. “Behind the Lies” unleashes rides galore and delightfully burbling, fusion-esque keys, while the title track resounds with unexpectedly soulful vocal harmonies.
For me, the test of a power metal band is the slow song (i.e., can they do one without making me vomit). “Unspeakable” is a typical piano power ballad, but “L.O.S.T.” delivers with quasi-exotic melodies, tribal drumming, and deliberate grooves a la later Queensrÿche (in a good way). The production is strong, preserving guitar bite while keeping keyboards balanced in the mix. Most people will hear the EP as a download, but the physical version has a cool, heavy stock sleeve with a nifty pocket for the CD.
Vougan will release its first full-length, Mind Exceeding, this fall, featuring new singer Izack Salvatierra. They’re not signed yet??? Given this EP, that should change soon.
