It’s a story as old as, well, the six years since the pandemic: one-man project is given birth during the days of lockdowns and isolation. Eventually, once the lockdowns are lifted, that one-man project slowly gets fleshed and filled out to the existence of a full band where one person had previously spent their forced alone time playing and writing by themselves and staring into the glow of a computer screen. Originally coming to be in Gatineau, Quebec, Volubilis formed in 2020 by multi‑instrumentalist Miguel Marcheterre‑Pina with the first public showing being an instrumental demo issued in 2023. Since then, Marcheterre‑Pina has assembled a lineup — André Dubien (vocals), Jacob Collins (drums), Alexis Rioux (guitar), and Shawn Hillman (fretless bass) — and made the move to Montreal.
Most relevant to today’s posting however, is the band’s forthcoming debut album, Theasterion, an astute masterstroke of progressive melodic death metal wrapped in thoughtful and technical aggression, deep space sci-fi storytelling and stunning amounts of conservatory-level musicianship reminiscent of Obscura, Gorod, Fleshgod Apocalypse and Beyond Creation. You can give the band and Theasterion a spin below, as we’re ponying up the chance to listen to a stream of it in advance of its official release tomorrow.
Here’s what mainman Marcheterre‑Pina had to say about the album and all y’all (hopefully) taking the time to give it a listen (which we’d recommended, because it’s really f’n good): “After a couple of years of composing, recording, and working on the worldbuilding aspects of Theasterion, we’re very proud to finally share it with the metal community! It’s been a long and stressful process, so having Decibel premiere our very first album is a great honour, and we are extremely grateful for this opportunity. Getting our music out in the world is a huge check off the bucket list, and we are excited to see its legacy in our music careers!”
Photo Credit: Jade Weeles & Miguel Marcheterre-Pina
The post Album Stream: Volubilis Ride a Tech Rocket Into Space With <em>Theasterion</em> appeared first on Decibel Magazine.