Review VENUES ‘Solace’

A crisis sometimes makes you stronger, something Venues had to believe in when going through a rough patch. The band from Stuttgart, Germany premiered in 2018 with ‘Aspire’’, a well-received first release and when singer Nyves parted ways with the band a crucial position became vacant, in the middle of touring to promote the album.

A coincident offered a new opportunity for Venues. Guitarist Constantin Ranis has been on a Steel Panther concert when Lela joined the sleaze metallers on stage to sing a song with them. Being impressed by her voice Ranis and Lela exchanged phone numbers. One thing came to another and a new singer for Venues was found.

Venues plays post-core with a modern touch. Clean female vocals create a counterpart to the raspy shouts of Robin Baumann, both being a key-ingredient for Venues’ sound. Harshness and melody, those are the poles of Venues music, and they are manifested in songs like ‘Uncaged Birds’ very well.

As some other bands in this genre also Venues build on a melancholic vibe, addressing the more painful moments of life and the darker periods when things don’t go smoothly. A well-placed distraction though is called ‘Whydah Galley’, probably the first pirate song in the fields of modern metal.

One of the real heavy moments on ‘Solace’ is the pounding ‘Shifting Colours’. Brutal riffs and a lot of shouting is the base with Lela’s vocals being melodic aspect for this neck-breaking metal anthem.

‘Solace’ is stronger than the debut and showcases a band that grew together during the last months. The new songs sound tighter and very energetic. It’s not that we haven’t heard this kind of music earlier but the way this Swabian five-piece powerhouse combines the assets is professional and electrifying.