REVIEW: VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY – Age Of Aquarius

 

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY – Age Of Aquarius (2019)

Napalm Records

Magic exists, and it exists in a form that is far from spectacular, far removed from the kind of spectacle that dazzles you for a moment only to be forgotten the next. It exists in a much more profound way, in a manner that is almost alchemical.

Just as the alchemists claimed that any metal could be transmuted into gold, so too do Villagers of Ioannina City, on Age of Aquarius, transform seemingly disparate musical genres into something unified, cohesive, and narratively compelling.

On Age of Aquarius, the progressive rock sensibilities of PINK FLOYD and TOOL converge with the sounds of stoner rock and doom metal, enriched by elements of heavy metal and, at times, epic passages that perhaps evoke the mid-tempo grandeur of bands such as MANOWAR and BATHORY. These elements become even more pronounced on their latest album, Venceremos. Nor are blues-rock experiments absent, as the track “Millennium Blues” demonstrates. All these sounds are woven together by the sometimes commanding, sometimes understated presence of the clarinet and the bagpipe, instruments rooted in the musical traditions of Epirus and beyond. Personally, having roots in Florina, I also discerned echoes of the traditional music of Western Macedonia in “Dance of Night.”

Villagers of Ioannina City offer a sonic ritual, an album that transports you without severing your connection to reality. An album that celebrates life, while also reminding us of the need to struggle, to stand together, and to strive to make that life better. It is the kind of musical experience one encounters only in the work of truly great progressive rock bands, The Wall by PINK FLOYD being one such example.

After all, according to astrological and esoteric traditions, the Age of Aquarius is the new era that succeeds the Age of Pisces. It is associated with technology and innovation, with an emphasis on science, the internet, and artificial intelligence. It is also associated with collectivism: a shift from “I” to “we,” in which communities and networks take the place of traditional hierarchies. Finally, it represents spirituality and freedom, a movement away from rigid dogmas and towards the pursuit of individual spiritual expression. No one can say with certainty exactly when this new age begins. In other words, it is an era of transformation and human betterment, and this album seems, in its own way, to serve that very ideal.

An album whose lengthy compositions never become tiresome. Instead, like a seed that finds fertile soil, it grows and takes root within you, deepening its hold with every successive listen.

Nick Parastatidis