Album Debut: 'Voyager' by Blueshift

Artwork for 'Voyager' provided by Blueshift - https://pedrocorrea.com/

Artist: Blueshift

Genre: Progressive Metal / Metalcore

Reviewed Music: 'Voyager' (Debut Album, March 2020)

Release Date: March 13th, 2020

Track list: 10 Tracks (48 minutes, 2 Seconds)

"Embark"

"Sadaude"

"Undertow"

"Terra"

"Jamais Vu"

"Cloak and Dagger"

"Voyager"

"Zenith"

"Vertigo"

‘Voyager’ by Blueshift – Review by Nic Beardsley of Dear Untitled:

“Sadaude” - a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia.. “

Launching into an introductory tension bed of building guitar, the debut album ‘Voyager’, by southern US artist, Blueshift, is littered with crescendoing mental hoops and tasty riffs throughout the ten track LP. This young metal act aims to transport you on an audible adventure - navigating sonic waves of sound and eviscerating the very foundations of your existence: Listen and ascend.

“….and now we’re never looking back,
how can I find the words to say?
Now I'm erasing all our memories
to feel whole again”
- Excerpt from “Sadaude”

In order for a musical opus to be successful and maintain notoriety through time there are some components which must exist - a varied “kit of parts” - if you will. One of these said ingredients is “the suspension of disbelief” which in turn allows the brain to spark creativity into the minds of another. With Blueshift’s debut album, ‘Voyager’, this step occurs at ignition, stage 1: the initial consumption of notes, or rather, the decision to open with “Sadaude” and its prelude track, “Embark”. Highlighting a prior released single in “Sadaude”, the flurry of seething vocals and rolling guitar truly launches you into a mental orbit around this journey, and ONLY this journey for roughly the next 50 minutes or so. Josh Nunn’s vocals shine through in this opening sequence with splashes of harmonization meshed into cries - dancing in and out of the playful guitar. If “Saudade” hasn’t yet perforated and enveloped mental barriers of the listener, then the ambient lines of “Eternia” practically beg for this release and sweep right into the 4th track, “Undertow” -

“...I never wanted to feel like this,
A slave to my own head…
...Can I break free
From the grip of reality?...”
- Excerpt from “Eternia”

The undertaking to unveil every secret on ‘Voyager’ would be a near impossible task, HOWEVER if words can somehow justly illustrate the interior segment of this album and the tactful chain of songs 5-8, aka "Terra", "Jamais Vu", "Cloak and Dagger", and "Voyager”, then we at minimum need to try. The block begins with “Terra”, a fairly unsuspecting track which initiates the emotional wedge of guilt as the lyrics pound through, blow by blow - “...Are you filled with regret now, when we look at what we’ve made?” - (Excerpt from “Terra”). Shout out to the prime use of a very abusive bassline by Dakota Gomez which prolongs this beating and crushes the track into your very soul. A brief, reprieve greets a firm, yet haunting “Jamais Vu”, with more showcased vocals that seep into the cracks around “Terra”‘s wedge:

“...This is who I’ve always been
Stumbling through
Every moment brings me back to you
Back to you...”
- Excerpt from “Jamais Vu”

As one consumes this album, the desperation for any resolution of this passionate arc turns dire at the conclusion of “Jamais Vu”, but it is a matter of moments before “Cloak and Dagger” revives the unwavering energy and carries you onward to the awaiting turmoil. Channeling their best ‘Clear’-era Periphery vibe, Blueshift brings an impressive contrast to ‘Voyager’ with one of their grooviest tracks to this point, yet still maintains their own unique flavor.

Terminating the ‘internal heft’ of the album, the eighth and namesake track, ‘Voyager’, ushers in sweet relief for the music fiends still in limbo - the 3 previous tracks have unknowingly built to the 2:00 mark of this piece in a stunning, subliminal fashion.

For as good as the central chunk of the album is, do not overlook "Zenith" and "Vertigo". "Zenith" stands prime to become a sleeper favorite, if not for its vocal prowess alone. Both of these songs are extremely well built and could be standalone favorites, but the impassioned lyrical search for meaning within the unknown seals the listener’s mutual bond that was established along this enthralling album by Blueshift.

Whether the perfectly fitting cover art spurred the contemplation of extraterrestrial life on mars or potentially recalling album covers of the classic rock band, Boston, the tone of this entire masterpiece is a visceral experience for every listener. As one would say in current jargon: there are moments within this album where my soul ‘yeeted’ from my physical being and my jaw occupied floor space for consecutive moments at a time, as we are bathed in the compositional magic and overarching connectivity of this body of work. Front to back, ‘Voyager’ sets your course for a captivating journey from the very instant you “Embark”.

Make sure to plan your day accordingly, so that you have time to audibly consume this spectacular debut album, ‘Voyager’ from the next big US act, Blueshift - Nic B.

Favorite Tracks: “Jamais Vu”, “Cloak and Dagger”, “Undertow”

Sleeper Tracks: “Terra”, “Zenith”

FFO: Currents, Variant, Silent Planet, The Drowned God, Architects