VENUES may not be a band that are instantly recognisable in the metal scene, but they soon will be if their third studio album Transience is anything to go by. Released via Arising Empire, the German four-piece have produced an album with astonishing diversity that pulls you in from the word go and keeps you gripped right to the end.
VENUES‘ music can be described as post-hardcore with a modern touch of nu-metal. Daniela ‘Lela’ Gruber leads on vocals, backed up by heavier vocalist Robin Baumann, to create a range of singing styles which changes with each track. The band teamed up with regular producer Christoph Wieczorek of Annisokay fame for Transience, and he’s certainly done a great job of the production.
Godspeed, Goodbye kicks off proceedings, opening with synths and followed by two seconds of silence before all hell breaks loose, as Gruber sings the first words on the album: “It feels like a sickness/I’m hardly falling asleep while the ground is shaking.” Guitarist Valentin Hahnemann provides some excellent work on the strings. The beauty of VENUES is how easily Gruber and Baumann can swap vocal duties and this track will definitely go down well in a live setting. Haunted House has a very hooky guitar riff, but it’s drummer Dennis Vanhofen who excels on the track with some outstanding work with the sticks. We were fortunate to hear this one live at Audio Glasgow during their support to Future Palace, and it was a standout in the set.
Baumann leads the vocals on Braille with Gruber happy to be reserved for the chorus. Once again we couldn’t help but nod along to the drums. Unspoken Words was released as a single in February, with Gruber commenting on the release: “Unspoken Words can be the loudest expression of self-preservation, even if you didn’t get every answer you thought you needed.” This is a track full of raw lyrics, as Gruber expresses deep emotions on the subject of toxic relationships. Next track Reflections has quickly become part of the band’s live set, its lyrics are the best on the album: “Here I am torn apart, this whole world starts to bring me to my knees/And they are already skinned and bruised”. Two more previously released tracks, Oblivion and Cravings, follow on – the drums in the latter song are a standout once again.
The album ends with reflective song Coming Home, also the longest track on the record with a runtime of 5.07. The piano-led song pulls you in a completely different direction from the rest of Transience, with the lyrics from Gruber tearing the emotions up. What an outstanding track to end the album, as she asks the philosophical question “What is freedom?”
We can only hope that there are plans for VENUES to return to the UK for a tour in 2024, after their successful run supporting Future Palace at the end of last year.
9/10
Standout Tracks: Godspeed, Goodbye, Haunted House, Reflections
For Fans Of: Annisokay, As Everything Unfolds, Future Palace
Written by: Alan Brown
