After being impressed with The Voynich Code’s debut EP Ignotum, I’ve been eagerly anticipating their debut full length, so I was particularly excited to give Aqua Vitae a listen when it arrived in my inbox. However, it unfortunately doesn’t quite hit the same heights as their previous material.
Aqua Vitae isn’t bad, but there’s not a lot of variety to the music so it almost sounds like the band have simply created the same song several times over. The complexity to the album as a whole is nice, but there’s similar-sounding riffs and solos from track to track, so it begins to sound repetitive after a while and it’s unfortunate because I know the band is capable of better than this – they certainly have skill and technique, after all.
Unfortunately, this is just an album that I have not been able to connect with, but as there is a lot of power and momentum behind the music, chances are that I may appreciate it more in a live environment, but as it stands, it’s not quite the release I was hoping for. Never mind though – I’ll just keep my eyes peeled for further new material from the band!
5.5/10
