It’s increasingly rare that a band such as Vower gets much attention before even releasing any material but this British metal supergroup has managed to turn plenty of heads on its members’ names alone. With Toska, The Totemist and one time Stormzy guitarist Rabea Massaad, guitarist Joe Gosney and drummer Liam Kearley both formerly of metal darlings Black Peaks, bassist Rory McLean and Palm Reader vocalist Josh McKeown, it’s not surprising that the quintet’s back catalogue is already earning them slots at Arctangent, Radar and 2000 Trees festivals and opening slots with prog-metal icons Karnivool. On their debut EP Apricity Vower prove that they’re far more than the sum of their parts.
From the outset, it’s clear that Massaad and Mckeown are leading the charge together on Apricity with the former’s thunderous guitar riffs and the latter’s commanding vocals dominating the EP’s first track and lead single ‘Shroud’. Vower take every opportunity to provide McKeown and Massaad back-and-forth moments, structuring their songs around the pair’s undeniable chemistry and allowing them to complement each other perfectly with the rest of the band providing a solid sonic backdrop for the co-leads.
Despite only consisting of Vower’s first four songs Apricity covers an unexpectedly wide berth of styles from melancholy, emo tinged post-hardcore to winding, grooving progressive metal. While each of the four tracks work well on an individual level, when put together like puzzle pieces, they reveal an intricately choreographed, densely packed whole with plenty of energetic peaks, and intimate moments of calm and ferocious riffs.
A firm highlight of Apricity is the EP’s closing track ‘Eyes Of A Nihilist’, the longest song of the four, giving Vower plenty of time to stretch their creative legs without losing their sense of urgency. Leaning into a more post-metal influenced sound, ‘Eyes Of A Nihilist’ takes a slower, more dramatic turn than some of Apricity’s more intense tracks with Massaad’s reverb drenched lead guitar and McKeown’s striking vocal performance taking the spotlight. Despite coming together as a new group, every member’s unique voice from their previous projects are on display, drummer Leam Kearley’s roaring beats work just as well here as they did in Black Peaks and McKeown’s vocals are both distinct and perfect for Vower.
Vower is so clearly a passion project for its five members, pouring their love of the heavy music community that’s nurtured their careers in other projects into an intensely planned, tightly written, and expertly performed collection of songs. Apricity acts as a fantastic proof of concept for Vower, offering a glimpse into their brilliance through its four dynamic tracks.