Victoria K is a new band from Australia plays female fronted symphonic metal offering a pretty impressive vocal range. The songs are from a very descent level and they are easy to sing along. Discover them together with us!
First track Freedom Uncharted features Sheri Vengeance (extreme vocals, from Melbourne) she was an original member of Ne Obliviscaris and a current member of Black Like Vengeance. It reminds me a bit of Withing Temptation (but with a lesser bombastic sound). All in all the song is melodic and sounds clean and peaceful. I like Victoria’s voice so far: sounds nice and powerful and she can dance over the vocal cords. Surreal goes on with the same vibe, but also gets an Arabic touch towards the end where you almost hear the camels pass by. Forsaken mixes her beautiful voice again with the monstrous grunts from Sheri Vengeance.
Matrix sounds harder and has a higher tempo, but Victoria takes out the tempo each time she sings.
A highlight on the album is Shroud of Solitude a duet with Michalina Malisz (Eluveitie): it’s fragile when needed and powerful in other moments. I adore the melody, the symphonic music, the tenderness, the piano, the emotions, the outbursts, … This song has everything within it to grow out and become a world famous song!
More up-tempo is The Haunting. Victoria proves here that she can scream really loud, go high and sharp without loosing any strength. There is an Arabic touch in the sound too. It’s clearly a gorgeous track!
Freaks has hammering drums and the vocals go up and down, to fast and slower. The song goes up and down like a ship during a storm. Mist Filled Sky starts in a very fragile way and with some strings until the guitars shred it all to pieces. The song sounds like a battle between two kind of vocals: sweet and evil. Humanity is a symphonic ballad. It’s fragile, emotional and a real beauty. Off course we get past halfway a rise in the tempo, but it doesn’t last long and keeps the whole fragile idea of Humanity alive. Last track is Lacuna is sweet rocker filled with bitter tears. It’s a very emotional track.
Well, it’s not bad at all and for sure if you know it’s actually their first record! I just hope they survive the actual Covid-19 flood and manage to get themselves a seat at the table of the female fronted metal bands!
Underneath is an introduction interview:
what does your band mean?
The Victoria K project started as a solo project and developed from there. The project was developed with the guidance of our producer Lee Bradshaw of Bradshaw Music Productions.
why that band name?
The band name was originally the stage name I was using for my solo work. It has now evolved to encompasses the whole band. It made logical sense to proceed with the same name because there was already social media and internet recognition around the brand – Victoria K, and it was therefore a lot easier to transition it to a band and hold on to the current fan base and social networks.
Why did you form?
After the release of Lacuna, which was distributed through Warner Music in Australia and New Zealand, the project had the opportunity to be the main support act for the Swiss Metal giants Eluveitie on the Melbourne leg of their tour. We scoured the Melbourne Heavy Music Scene and sourced some of the best musicians to create the current band line up. We played the Eluveitie support and were called back for an encore. What an amazing experience that was. We also received some great media coverage and amazing reviews. So since then we have moved forward as a unit and have formed extremely tight bonds. Its amazing how music brings like minded people together.
How did the idea come to be?
I’ve been singing and creating music for a little while now and I have always wanted to share what I feel and hear with the World. I think its really important as an Artist to say what others are afraid to say and to provide a different perspective on real world and personal issues. This is where the ideas and driving force comes from.
I am incredibly blessed that I have now linked with another four amazing people who feel the same way and I really look forward to working with them on more music that we can share.
how would you describe your sound in five words?
Its always hard to describe your own work. I believe, as artists, that once we deliver the work and gift it to the world it belongs to them, and is no longer ours. I think it’s more important to ask how others feel when they hear the music and let the listeners describe the music. That is really the most important thing and what really counts. The real question is “How does our music sound to you? What words would you use to describe it? And how does it make you feel?”
Others in the Media have described our music as:-
“Haunting Powerful” - Hysteria Magazine
“Ethereal, melodic vocals juxtaposed against heavy metal” – Ditch This Magazine
“[The] Music balances at the nexus of dark fragility and empowering strength”. – Hysteria Magazine
“Ethereal and Infectious” – Buzz Music
“Stormy” – Hysteria magazine
Your upcoming album? how do think it should be received by fans?
That is always a very hard question to answer. I really hope that when our fans and new listeners hear the album they can all find something that they connect with on a deeper level. Whether that connection is found from within the music itself or from specific lyrics, I really hope they find something familiar which can connect them to some experience they have had, invoking memories and feelings, eliciting an emotional response.
What kind of listening experience are trying to give fans with this single and new music to come?
I would love to take the listener on an emotional journey. Every song is different and provides a different experience so I just hope they come along form the ride. All the songs are connected to each other but also speak on their own.
How is the writing process for the band?
I have written all the songs for the Album. I normally start by writing the lyrics and then creating a melody and chord structure on piano around the lyrics. I then work with Lee Bradshaw to create the music and all the orchestrations. We needed some extreme vocals so we contacted Sheri Vengeance and worked with her to develop those parts. Sheri help with the lyrics for the extreme vocal parts and she was instrumental in their creation. I am really looking forward to working with all the other band members to create new music for the next album.
Are any of the band members known on the local scene from any other bands?
Yes. Like I said we scoured for the best Melbourne musicians and Sheri Vengeance (extreme vocals) was an original member of Ne Obliviscaris and a current member of Black Like Vengeance, Martin Kawaler (Bass) is with Black Like Vengeance and a very creative and talented musician and songwriter and Julia Mammone (Guitar) also plays with Enlight from the local Melbourne scene.
How did you decide on the tracks for this album? how much more music can fans expect?
We created a list of about 30 songs from all my material and ran through each song to cut the list down to approximately 20 songs. We then recorded a very rough demo of each of the 20 songs (piano and vocals only) and bounced them onto a cd. I played the CD everywhere I went and listened to all 20 songs constantly for weeks. Some songs stood right out and were a MUST to be on the album. Others were a definite No. Most were maybe’s and they took a lot more listening to and more time to decide on. We always kept in mind how we wanted the Album to sound and in the end we had to get rid of a few songs that we really loved to make sure we got the album and vibe we wanted. We really want this album to tell a story and I think the final Tracklist works really well.
We currently have enough material for 3 or 4 more Albums so we hope to deliver more music in the very near future. I’m especially exited to experience the evolution of our sound and now with the formation of the band how the development of our sound will progress. The band members are exceptional musicians and I look forward to future creations with them.
What can people expect live from your band compared to other bands?
When we hit the stage we always strive to entertain our fans. Our focus is always on making sure everyone watching experience the full sound and stage show we present.
where do your lyrics come from? what inspires your writing?
Most of my lyrics come from observing the world and people. I always wonder what people are feeling when they behave in certain ways. So I guess my lyrics come from deep contemplation of the world around me. A lot of my inspiration comes from old poetry and the great poets and writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft amongst others.
Are the songs a collaborative effort?
This album started as a solo project so all the song were written by me. I usually write he lyrics first and the create a melody for the lyrics before creating the music on my piano. The collaboration occurs when I take my songs to my producer Lee Bradshaw. Lee is an accomplished composer and highly skilled with orchestration, amongst other musical genres. I bring in the heavier elements and the ideas around those and Lee works his magic with the symphonic elements. We do collaborate and discuss all the elements but we certainly to play to our strengths.
How does the music affect the lyrics and vice versa?
That is such an interesting question. With this album we have tried to create a fragile balance between the heavy and symphonic. The most important thing is to tell the story and to deliver the emotion. The music can drive the emotion of the lyric at any specific points within the songs and even within the vocal by shifting the sound from chest voice to head voice through the different registers was a deliberate choice to balance the music and deliver the emotion.
How would you describe the evolution of the band’s sound?
This is the first album but we are looking forward to collaborating on future albums.
Name the Top 5 band influences of the band. What metal genres influence you as a band the most?
Nightwish, Kamelot, Eluveitie, Eleine, Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation
There are many different metal genres that provide influences. I think every metal genre has something amazing about it and being able to take the things you love and melding them together to create something new is challenging but very rewarding.
What’s the meaning behind the album and some of the songs.
Essentia is Latin for Essence. Essence is that indispensable quality of something that determines its very nature or character. So I guess the Album as a whole tries to tackle and define the very nature of humanity. In a way I’m trying to unravel the complexity of the human essence and emotion. It all hopefully leads to being struck by a moment of Sonder - therefore the realization that everyone, including strangers, have a life as complex as our own, despite our lack of awareness of it.
Describe the album as a whole and describe each song track by track
Freedom Uncharted – Talks about the search for your unknown destiny, which is our driving force.
Surreal – Describes a pain so deep that no one can describe and the battle to move pass or surpass it.
Forsaken – When you felt lost or alone because you’ve been abandoned or urt by the ones that loved you the most. They have forsaken you and the struggle to keep going.
Matrix – The song asks the question:- “What will become of our World because of the arrogance and ignorance of humans”
Shroud of Solitude - Tackles the solitude the becomes your very existence when are lamenting or in a dark place spiritually.
Haunting – This about a tortured past haunting until you let go of the past, if you ever can.
Freaks – Facing your personal fears and overcoming pain. Accepting yourself.
Mist Filled Sky – A memory that sticks with you and you can’t let it go of it. The mist filled sky is your clouded vision.
Humanity – Losing yourself and your mind to insanity, pain and sin.
Lacuna – Lacuna is Latin for missing space. It discusses the search to find the missing part or ourselves and the search for peace.
