Louisville, Kentucky’s Volcandra have announced their 2022 return, burning brightly with incandescent verve and an audaciously ambitious sci-fi inspired take on the black metal genre. Volcandra will be releasing their Prosthetic Records debut release in the form of a four-track EP, titled Border World, due out on June 24.
Across Border World’s runtime, Volcandra offers a distinctively futuristic vision of melodic black metal – with lyrical tales of possessed mythical beasts, draconic cyborgs and mystical border worlds inspired by a deep love for video games and futuristic storytelling.
We asked the band’s vocalist, Dave Palenske, to talk to us about 3 releases that have influenced him and the band’s sound a lot.
Inferi – Path of Apotheosis
I draw inspiration from a lot of music, but when it comes to Volcandra there are certain albums that I keep in mind when writing for the band. Path of Apotheosis by Inferi is easily one of my favorite records of all time. It features technicality that isn’t a chore to listen to, masterful songwriting with solid, melodic hooks and this overwhelming feeling of peril that permeates throughout the whole thing. You really feel like you’re listening to something ‘big’, if that makes sense. While Volcandra isn’t focused on technicality the same level that Inferi is, we strive to keep things feeling epic and over the top so the listener is wrapped up in an adventure of sorts.
Skeletonwitch – Breathing the Fire
One band that was really coming up when I started taking music more seriously was Skeletonwitch, and their album Breathing the Fire was in heavy rotation when it came out. Skeletonwitch are a band that write songs that were meant to be played live and get people pumping their fists. None of the tracks on Breathing the Fire have any fat. They’re expertly written, filled with riffs that really stick in your head, and feature vocal performances that retain a rock ‘n roll attitude. Volcandra is also a band that keeps things rock ‘n roll. We’re not dressed to impress, or trying to flaunt. We just wanna rock your socks off.
Gallowbraid – Ashen Eidolon
Gallowbraid’s self-titled album is their only album, and it might be the only album they’ll ever need to write because it’s so good. This is one of those records I would want to have with me if I were stranded on a desert island. The songs are simple and catchy but never grow stale. There are plenty of solid, rockin’ hooks but also very beautiful, somber passages. This album is whimsical, and when I’m listening it’s kind of entrancing. In Volcandra I feel like we try to accomplish something similar by balancing that aforementioned rock ‘n roll attitude, but there are also a fair share of “dreamy” bits sprinkled throughout, to keep that sense of awe and fantasy present at all times.
