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EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: See Vokonis Engage in “Grasping Time”

For stoner metal to have any kind of hold on me today, it has to have something unique, something to set it apart from the hordes of bands that are

5 years ago

For stoner metal to have any kind of hold on me today, it has to have something unique, something to set it apart from the hordes of bands that are making music in the style. As Vokonis‘s “Grasping Time” played in my ears for the first time, I was desperate for that certain something since everything else was already so good. The tones were that kind of bright timbre that I love, the drums and bass were pronounced, and the lead vocals had the presence I expect from them. However, those things in and of themselves weren’t quite enough to make the cut; to be honest, there are some extremely talented bands in the field who have all those elements. Vokonis were good to my ears but were they great?

Luckily, I got what I was looking for less than a minute into the track, when the camera shifted away from the bassist/vocalist and on to the guitarist. I was expecting some kind of choir-like backing vocal line but instead got a fully fleshed growl/scream, a mighty roar into the microphone that left me feeling quite pleased. That one moment of aggression, repeating several time throughout the track, painted everything else in a new light and contextualized it. It made me feel Vokonis’ passion and dedication to their craft, going beyond “just” playing great Elder influenced music and making it their own, putting their mark on it.

Head on below to give “Grasping Time” a try of your own, coupled with a neat little video to boot. An album under the same name will see release via The Sign Records, sometime in the autumn of this year. In the meantime, you can follow the band’s Facebook for more information as we get closer to said release.

Eden Kupermintz

Published 5 years ago