Review: Loch Vostok – Opus Ferox – The Great Escape

Style: “Extreme Progressive Metal” (90% clean vocals)
Review by: Matt
Country: Sweden
Release date: 30 July, 2021

Loch Vostok: a name I’ve heard before, yet never investigated until now. It seems I might not have gotten the classic LV experience here, as this is a transitional period for the band. Newcomer Jonas Radehorn has replaced bandleader Teddy Möller on vocals after almost 20 years, and they’re trying for a “new, more direct sound,” in their own words. Well, I don’t know what they were doing before, but… uh… Actually, I kind of still don’t.

When I first go through a review album, I’m always looking for some main feature to hang my hat on – “This is that band with _____.” Maybe they have a lot of keyboards, or they’re imitating another band, or all their songs are about olympic curling. Whatever. In this case, the band’s most noteworthy feature is exactly how un-noteworthy they sound, yet I don’t mean that as an insult. Loch Vostok are actually not boring at all. They do a lot of different things, committing to none of them in particular, but they’re not even weird enough to be “that band that does a lot of things.” I don’t know what they are. Still, quality writing has no genre, and it carries this album that somehow manages to have no identity for 48 minutes and still be good.

I will attempt to describe what is basically the exact midpoint of all metal genres. Opus Ferox is: kind of 80s. Kind of 2000s. Kind of chuggy. Kind of keyboardy. Proggy, but with no long songs. Skillful, but with no shredding. Clean-vocaled, but sometimes growled. Usually midtempo, except when it’s not. Thrashy or deathy at times. Faintly nu-metal at times. Epic but unpretentious. You know… an album.

Despite how hard this amorphous blob of a record is to explain, I can at least say a few things with certainty. Every song here flows nicely and is easily digestible without being too simple. The choruses are consistently excellent, and Jonas Radehorn is probably an upgrade over any singer he replaces. He initially sounds a bit tough-guy, but over the course of the album proves to be an incredibly versatile clean singer with a massive range. “Disillusion” is his crowning achievement here, hitting runs out of nowhere that I never would have thought possible based on his generally low voice. The rest of the band are no slouches either, though they don’t often go out of their way to show off. Lawrence Dinamarca returns from Manticora‘s wonderful 2020 album to deliver a more restrained but still impressive drum performance. In a word, the instrumentation is tasteful.

If I have any complaints, they’re more peripheral things – for instance, “Save You” is an odd choice for a closer with its abrupt, anticlimactic ending. It adds to the impression that this is just a random collection of 3-5 minute songs. Also, I always cringe when metal lyrics try to “run on the issues” like they sometimes do here, with lines like “a shitstain on democracy” or “when the pharmaceutical companies give away the cure for AIDS for free.” There’s things worth saying, but I’ve always thought metal lent itself better to metaphor and vagueries. Perhaps the worst accusation you could make against Opus Ferox is that it doesn’t take any risks with song structure, but I’m neutral on that when a band is this good at churning out choruses.

You know, I thought of something Loch Vostok could do to set themselves apart. As you may have heard, they’re named after an Antarctic lake. Maybe they should just claim to be from Antarctica, so the same fans of “pirate metal” and that goofy Ned Flanders band can think they’re quirky while listening to “Antarctica metal.” It’s a little late, but you know, just keep repeating it until it becomes true. It’ll sell more albums than being “that band that writes good songs,” and they won’t even have to buy costumes – they can just wear their winter coats on stage. Think about it, guys.

Recommended tracks: Disillusion, The Great Escape
Recommended for fans of: Voyager, Mercenary, Nevermore
Final verdict: 7/10

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

Label: ViciSolum Productions – Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Loch Vostok is:
– Jonas Radehorn (vocals)
– Teddy Möller (guitars, harsh vocals)
– Niklas Kupper (guitars)
– Patrik Janson (bass)
– Lawrence Dinamarca (drums)