VOJD
The Outer Ocean
HIGH ROLLER
7/10
CLASSIC ROCK: Swedish rockers VOJD are essentially a reformed Black Trip with a new drummer. Similar in sound to a certain extent, VOJD is more classic rock and less traditional heavy metal than Black Trip was. The 11 tracks on The Outer Oceanare designed with inspiring melodies, harmonious vocal hooks—especially come chorus time—and a fantastic blend of Thin Lizzy twin leads and melodic, classic rock riffs. Opener “Break Out” grabs you with those aforementioned Thin Lizzy melodies and holds your attention with that gigantic ear worm of a chorus. More memories of Thin Lizzy hit you with “Delusions in the Sky,” while the urgent riffing and vibrant melodies of “Secular Wire” serve up a hard driving triumvirate of tracks to start the album. The bluesy guitar intro and dreamy chorus of the title track swerves into a different slow grooving dynamic, while “Dream Machine” also possesses similar bluesy touches with a sleepy, honky-tonk vibe decorated with harmonica. “On an Endless Day of Everlasting Winter” possesses an upbeat, ZZ Top-ish boogie-woogie swagger, and closer “To the Light” ends the album in memorable fashion. The songs are kept at a manageable length with a 43 minute album runtime that sweetly passes by. Although there’s nothing groundbreaking on The Outer Ocean, it’s a solid, highly memorable melodic rock album. ~ Kelley Simms
