Janvs - Vega (2008)

Well here's a bit of a (mid-paced) whirlwind for you. Veering everywhere from prog instrumentals to soaring melodic black metal, Janvs deliver a diverse yet coherent release. The album is tied together with a bright, triumphant sound that hints at the pagan spirituality the band supposedly focuses on. Synths are prevalent, yet are subtly mixed in for mood rather than trying for prog virtuosity. Some songs feature clean vocals, which I find passable if not excessively interesting, but they do earn some marks for being in their native tongue.

As far as issues to pick at, I only have a couple things to bring up. The song "Dazed" is pointless filler, even more so for it's complete lack of interesting material pertaining to the rest of the album. It's nice and pretty and all that rot, but they could have left it out, shortened the album to six songs, and been perfectly fine. On a more important note, the general sound of the album is rather plain in that proggy way, which helps to keep things discernible, but ruins the chance for much atmosphere. It might not hurt if they were to sacrifice a bit of clarity to lend some depth to the sound.

Overall, however, Vega shows that Janvs are comfortable with what they want. The album moves at a constant pace, interspersing atmospheric interludes and more upbeat blackened pieces to keep it interesting. When I say constant pace, I really mean it - the guitarist is in no hurry to rush his melodies, nor is the keyboardist. Each song is smooth, devoid of prog-wankery and over-technicality. Although the songs are generally around seven minutes in length, they don't get stale or repetitive, even though there are evident repeated sections. Really, a solid album.

Verdict: Win [4/5]

http://www.myspace.com/janvsdotit