“Better late than never” is a motto that is not applicable in every life situation (e.g. flights, your wedding… etc). However, it is never late to express one’s love for a musical album. “Kore” is the second album released by the Australian band Victoria K. The album was released last October, making it about 3 months old now. Since its release, I have listened to “Kore” about eight or nine times, and each time I listen to it, I uncover new aspects to admire. This is why I was delighted when the committee of FemMetal Awards 2022 nominated “Kore” for Best Album. So here are some of the things I loved about “Kore” by Victoria K.
FemMetal Rating
9/10
“Kore” is rich with sections of earth-shattering, headbang-inducing, fist-raising Metal music. The band’s upcoming tour in Australia will likely see audiences responding strongly with endless headbanging to songs like “Tower” and “Blasphemia” with their heavy guitar riffs and energetic beats, combined with orchestral elements.
Unlimited creativity
“Kore” is a Symphonic Metal album with a concept based on the Greek myth of Persephone. The album comprises eleven tracks, each of which stands out as unique and noteworthy. The songs work together to tell the story effectively, while also maintaining a cohesive flow and a high level of musical quality. There are no weak or filler tracks, and the storytelling is done seamlessly through the lyrics and music. This demonstrates the impressive creativity of the songwriter (Victoria Knight) and producer (Lee Bradshaw) of “Kore”.
Symphonic delights
The classic music elements in “Kore” are, to put in one word, gorgeous. The vocals are powerful and impressive whether they were on heavy or lighter tracks. One standout track is “Mothers’ Garden,” where the vocals of Victoria Knight soar to great heights. A variety of orchestral instruments were used to enrich the album with complex harmonies while growling vocals by Charlie Curnow contrasted beautifully with Knight’s vocals to create an effortless sound of quality Symphonic Metal. “Persephone” is a track that would perfectly illustrate these qualities.
Solid Metal
“Kore” is rich with sections of earth-shattering, headbang-inducing, fist-raising Metal music. The band’s upcoming tour in Australia will likely see audiences responding strongly with endless headbanging to songs like “Tower” and “Blasphemia” with their heavy guitar riffs and energetic beats, combined with orchestral elements.
Concept texture
In movies that are set in a mythological or historic era, filmmakers use hundreds of visual effects and filming techniques to transfer the viewers’ minds from reality into the story’s settings. It is much harder to have that same effect on your audience when the work of art at hand is music, free of visuals. Of course, some brilliant music videos were released for singles from “Kore”, however, even without these videos in mind, “Kore” was made in a way that despite the lack of visual elements, it still manages to convey a rich and immersive atmosphere. The inclusion of Greek lyrics and traditional Greek music in the album helped create this texture that, when presented with the epic mood expressed through the orchestrations and vocals, would transfer the audience to the world of Persephone and her stories that are being told in “Kore”.
