Review: Vokonis – Exist Within Light [EP]

Style: progressive metal, psychedelic/stoner (mostly clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Elder, Mastodon, Motorpsycho, All Them Witches
Review by: Sam
Country: Sweden
Release date: 27 October, 2023

Two weeks ago I saw Motorpsycho live. They’re a progressive psych rock band who a couple of my friends swear by. I like them, but wasn’t a super fan. That is, until I saw them live and I could feel the psychedelic vibrations drilling into my body, which gave me a new-found appreciation for the style. Coming high off their concert, I remembered that we had an EP from a Mastodon-ian psychedelic/stoner trio I reviewed before sitting in our inbox. I remember it having killer extended guitar solos, and they have since added a guitarist and became a quartet, so this should be good.

Opener “Houndstooth” contains a myriad of colorful riffs, ranging from upbeat psych to heavy stoner and progressive noodling. Halfway through it drops the tempo and adds magical lead melodies over a doomy riff before picking up the pace again with heavy riffs and vicious harsh vocals, ending the song with a bang. “Revengeful” evokes Emperor of Sand-era Mastodon, keeping the upbeat psych but increasing the heaviness and intensity of the riffs. Its composition is more involved, housing more complicated riffs and an extended bridge section. I wish the guitar solo was longer, but with how good the riffs after it were I can’t complain too much.

The final and titular track takes a step back and opts for a slow build. Something I’ve ignored till now is the clean vocals being lackluster. On one hand it’s stoner, so mediocre vocals are to be expected, but if Mastodon can make stoner metal with beautiful vocal melodies, so can Vokonis. The slow build of “Exist Within Light” puts more spotlight on Simona Ohlsson’s (who on a side note has come out as trans since their last album) singing than she’s capable of carrying. It’s not bad, just a little drab. The song is otherwise quite compelling, immersing you with hypnotizing guitarwork and grooves, although I again wish the guitar solo let loose a little more, its ending riff is a delicious vibe that ends the EP leaving me wanting more. 

All in all, Exist Within Light is a rock solid EP. The promo mentioned that they’re aiming for an early 2024 release of their next full length, which I will be anticipating eagerly, though I hope they’ll let loose with the guitar solos by then like they did in Odyssey. They haven’t quite tapped into the potential of having an extra guitarist yet in that regard, and the vocals could use some improvements. Other than that though, this is a great teaser for what’s to come and a good excuse to reinvite their back catalog into regular rotation. Get psyched!

Recommended tracks: it’s three songs
You may also like: Astrakhan, Moozoonsii, Weedpecker
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: Majestic Mountain Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Vokonis is:
– Simona Ohlsson (vocals, guitars)
– Hedvig Modig (guitars)
– Oscar Johannesson (bass)
– Sven Lindsten (drums)