In This Moment We Are Free – Cities is the debut album from VUUR, a heavy progressive metal band from the Netherlands formed by vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen (The Gathering/Gentle Storm) and it’s a pretty decent first effort from the project.
Although suffering from a slight lack of variety from song to song (most of the tracks seem to have the same format and approach), the album as a whole is a strong and engaging piece with plenty of excellent instrumental and vocal lines for you to sink your teeth into. From start to finish, it’s an engaging listen and a particularly good element is the reoccurring lyrics of in this moment because it makes the album sound more together and hammers things home a little harder.
One of the best elements of VUUR’s sound is the combination of nice-and-heavy proggy instrumentation paired up with a softer female vocal approach and the two different elements of the sound blend together nicely – the juxtaposition of the two is just right, and shows careful consideration to the band’s sound as a whole. Second track Time – Rotterdam is a particularly good example of this with some wonderfully chunky guitar lines to start before the soft (yet very powerful) vocals kick in and it just adds another dimension to it all.
All in all, In This Moment We Are Free – Cities is a good debut from VUUR. There’s elements to be improved on – it would perhaps be nice to mix things up and take a lighter approach with the instrumention and a heavier approach with the vocals for example – but as a whole it’s a great listen and a strong starting point for the band.
7/10
