Band:	Votum
Album:	Metafiction
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	November 2009
A review by:	Doc G.

01. Falling Dream
02. Glassy Essence
03. Home
04. Faces
05. Stranger Than Fiction
06. Indifferent
07. December 20th

Castrated metal - thy name is Votum.

Making super-melodic metal seems like an incredibly difficult task these days, finding a balance between delicate beauty and being actually metal. Votum manage to pull this balance off really well...at least for the first few songs. The expansive soundscapes set a fantastic backdrop for this epic sounding prog album, cram-packed full of sweeping, sorrowful melodies. This is another band that seems to know the value of infectious songwriting above pointless displays of virtuosity - that's not to say the musicians aren't quite remarkable. All showy displays of musicianship are done with taste, not self-loving arrogance. Basically picture a more electric sounding version of Opeth's Damnation, throw in a taste or two of some hardcore-ish type vocals, and you've got Metafiction .

What starts off as a pretty powerful album, eventually comes off as dramatic whining by the end due to total lack of variation. The songs are actually quite good standing on their own, but sitting through a 45 minute album, consisting almost entirely of 5+ minute songs is extremely trying, especially considering how much each song blends into one another, sounding basically the same. The attempts at variation tend to make the album worse, ironically. A few aggressive moments rear their head, but not long, or frequently enough for a truly enjoyable ride, they seem to merely highlight how tame the rest of the album is, really cruel teasing in a way.

Is the music good? Yes. Is the album good? Not really. Small doses are fantastic, but as a whole, Metafiction is a bit too long for it's own good.