Villagers Of Ioannina City – Venceremos

Hermes, the messenger of the gods, has dusted off his winged sandals and descends upon the common people in the form of Villagers Of Ioannina City (VIC to the band’s fans). He brings a message of resistance and calls on people to stand up for their own freedom. With this, the Age of Aquarius comes to an abrupt end after seven years of silence. The world has undeniably gone through difficult times in recent years. The spiritual themes on the previous album, Age Of Aquarius, are therefore cast aside on this new album, Venceremos, making way for a call to ignite the inner fire. It is only natural, then, that this has an impact on the musical execution. The psychedelic stoner rock with folk influences from these villagers from Ioannina, Greece, takes on a more direct and aggressive approach with a distinct, gleaming metal sound. Standing still is going backward. Long live the revolution! We will prevail! Venceremos!

‘’Ο ήλιος αυτός ήταν δικός μου και δικός σου: τον μοιραστήκαμε
ποιός υποφέρει πίσω από το χρυσαφί μεταξωτό ποιός πεθαίνει;’’

Most readers will not be able to understand the Greek text above. But the poems of Nobel Prize winner Giorgos Seferis exude an air of melancholy, stemming from an awareness of human frailty and powerlessness in the face of oppression, abuse of power, violence, and war. This body of thought forms the perfect foundation for the thematic approach of this new album, Venceremos. The text above is recited during the first full track, Home, which truly kicks off the album following the brief introduction of Alienation. Home begins immediately with an atmospheric and intriguing atmosphere, featuring gentle guitar strumming and haunting vocals. The guitar lines are slowly joined by the other instruments, together forming a ritualistic vortex that steadily gains in intensity and never really lets up. This sounds like classic VIC! Anyone who feared the Greek band would take a completely different direction after the first two singles will slightly have to reconsider their opinion here. Further into the album, we find Here And Now, a very long track (in fact, the longest song Villagers has ever made). On this track, after a gentle strumming, the driving guitar riff comes to the forefront. This gives the whole song a “classic AOR” feel, especially with the solo toward the end of the song. The repetitive nature of the simple guitar line might seem a bit boring on first listen, but after several listens, the subtle nuances start to stand out, and Alex Karametis’s vocal lines turn out to be very catchy.

The fact that the Age of Aquarius is largely over is evident from the other songs on the album. The first two singles, of course, already hinted at this to some extent. Ghosts In The Sky marks a clear break from their previous work. It sounds much more like metal than we’re used to hearing from these Greek musicians. After a brief introduction, the galloping riffs come flying at you. The lead guitar melody is relatively simple, and the whole track carries a good dose of power and melodic metal. This is reminiscent of the later work of bands like Amorphis and Evergrey. The chorus, however, is captivating, and the warm keyboard backing has an addictive quality. The second single, Venceremos, can be placed partly in the same vein. Above all, though, this has turned into a funky party track! Try standing or sitting still to this one. So here, too, we once again get to hear the “new style” VIC. There’s little trace of psychedelic stoner here; instead, it gives way to uptempo alt-rock. One constant, however, is the folk instrumentation, which is clearly audible throughout the entire album. Combined with the Greek accent of revolutionary leader Alex Karametis, this gives the music a very authentic feel and ensures that, despite the stylistic shifts, this new album, Venceremos, undeniably sounds like Villagers Of Ioannina City.

If the two previously released singles already marked a stylistic shift, then The Ruiner is definitely the absolute turning point. The opening is already somewhat ominous, after which the instrumentation grows quite dark and a barrage of heavy guitars blasts out of the speakers. Very surprising! Amid the heavier guitar onslaught, balance is sought through atmospheric dark rock passages. The build-up toward the end, however, signals the start of a series of vicious riffs that will certainly put your neck muscles to the test. It doesn’t get any more metal than this; it’s really great! This is somewhat reminiscent of Wheel’s latest album or the work of Sermon, but with that distinctive Greek flavor on top. No Fear also starts off ominously with thunder and lightning. Although the start doesn’t promise anything good, what follows is mostly lighthearted post-rock. Still, the whole thing has a driving quality, if only because of the urgency in the vocals. The progressive middle section adds even more momentum here. Just when the song seems to be meandering a bit too far, it shifts into high gear and the tempo picks up. With a strong final sprint to the finish, we’re once again treated to a nice twist and a more powerful closing track.

And so Villagers Of Ioannina City plays with various styles and tempos, making the album as a whole more dynamic than ever before. The band does this, however, without betraying the core values of their own music. Then there’s the closing two-part. With Epitaph, we get a musical prelude in which the Greek bagpipes seem to pay their last respects. The song flows seamlessly into the accessible riffs of Requiem. The repetitive rhythms ripple along calmly, after which the tempo suddenly picks up. Following a delightful guitar solo and a very long fade-out, the album suddenly comes to an end before you even realize it. This provides a serene conclusion at the end of an hour of music and leaves room for reflection.

Well then, this review has turned into quite an epic one, that would even impress Homer. This album has truly amazed me on so many levels, which is why there was simply so much to write about this time. The first singles already hinted that Villagers would be heading in a different direction. Venceremos largely lives up to that feeling. With a world that has changed drastically over the past seven years, this also feels (specifically for this band) like a logical step in their musical evolution. I can imagine that some fans might be a bit disappointed by the direction they’ve taken. Perhaps I, too, had to find my way around it at first. In the end, however, there’s a strong collection of new material, and this might simply be a hurdle you have to overcome. Venceremos!