Vower – ‘A Storm Lined With Silver’

Vower really put themselves on the map in 2024 by bursting into the scene with a double whammy. Not only did they prove that they pack a punch live, debuting at 2000 Trees and blowing attendees minds with their blend of prog, metal and post-hardcore, but their debut EP ‘Apricity’ cemented them as one of the UK’s premiere rising talents; a commanding four-track display that showed both confidence and promise. Fast-forward to now and they have ‘A Storm Lined With Silver’, a meatier offering with a longer run-time that sees them double down on everything their debut established.

It becomes immediately clear that they’re picking up exactly where they left off. Right from the hypnotic opening of ‘Dawn In Me’ and its spine tingling melodic shifts, the band begins to display their grasp on ebb and flow, with guitarists Rabea Massaad and Joe Gosney trading licks and stabs while vocalist Josh McKeown flits from soaring melody to violent scream. There’s more of the same embedded in the towering ‘Satellites’, a hefty and muscular delight that switches gears from menacing verse to uplifting chorus with maximum impact. 

While it’s good to hear that the band have made something that sits comfortably aside their debut, it’s even better to hear them broadening their palette. ‘Deadweight’ offers an almost Korn-like main motif, rooted in a low-tuned groove that skulks and pounds before being lifted by McKeown’s strained vocal line, “Do you want to become the person you hate?” There’s a lot of aggression coursing through ‘Stuck’ too. Ominous vocal melodies are draped over its weighty riffs that really erupt into catastrophe in the closing moments, enhanced by some of McKeown’s most brutal tones work to date. 

The soundscapes the band have become so adept at creating are at their absolute best here. The ballad-hybrid ‘Moth Becomes The Flame’ is a masterclass in suspense, starting softly with soul-stirring pianos before evolving into a widescreen, full band metallic colossus. Closing track ‘Serpent’ is perhaps the mostly aptly named song on the EP, writhing and stalking underneath delicate melodies before coiling and constricting at its colossal closing crescendo. The band set an incredibly high bar for themselves with ‘Apricity’, and somehow they’ve managed to vault over it with plenty of air beneath them. Put simply, this is the sound of a band that isn’t going to spend much more time as an underground secret.

If there was one word to describe this whole EP, that word would be “thoughtful.” The music is incredibly intricate, displaying everything from static calm to raging aggression and masterfully navigating between them, but the lyrics are the icing on the proverbial cake. McKeown has an incredible ability to convey so much emotion with his voice, allowing the introspective nature of the lyrics to resonate like he’s speaking directly to your soul. Lines like “I am more than a clenched fist in the silence, I am more than the knife twist that gives me guidance” in ‘Moth Becomes The Flame’ are breathtaking, delivered with meaning and oozing with feeling. 

While you can hear the sum of the band’s parts, with elements of Palm Reader, Black Peaks and Toska all dancing with one another, the songs never sound as though they’re imitating those projects. Their collective experience and creativity has melded together to form something that stands on its own. You could hear that the whole way through ‘Apricity’, but ‘A Storm Lined With Silver’ feels even more refined. The power of this EP is undeniable, as is the band’s destiny to continue ascending through the ranks. The sky is the limit.

DAVE STEWART