Vagora - Darling Discordia

Being touted as their final album, Vagora threw it all out there with Darling Discordia.  A pleasant blend of sounds familiar to past Vagora and some you wouldn’t expect, this album keeps you guessing what is around the corner with each track.

Mainstays from the last few releases are Cephas DeRaven (vocals), TB (guitars/vocals) and Marcus Hyde (drums); newcomers to the band are Jesse Nameless (guitar) and Kylie Discord (bass/vocals).  This line-up change has given the band a heavier sound on the guitars, yet more melodic on the vocals in comparison to prior incarnations of the band. This album is split sonically, with just over half containing songs that are reminiscent of “classic” Vagora, however, there are more than a few songs with a completely different, much harrowing sound.

Opening with Soylent Green and Emeralds, respectively, these two songs introduce the two sides of Darling Discordia.  With Soylent Green showcasing the newer, much darker sound with a more stripped down vocal style, focusing solely on the lead vocals with little (if any) accompanying vocal harmonies.  Other songs, such as Skelital, Pink Rose Girl, The Healing Powers Of LaFemineen and Dead Battery continue this premise.

Emeralds on the other hand has a far more familiar sound to earlier Vagora songs; with an upbeat rhythm and multiple, catchy vocal melodies.  This theme continues throughout the album with Coffin Nails, Exit Wounds, Empathy & Irony, Time In Reverse, My Last Impression and Month Of Sundays.

This album truly is the most diverse piece of work Vagora has done to date, with industrial and electronica influences on tracks like The Winter Of Discontent and In The POD.  There are heavy, but melodic tunes in Juniper’s Morning Kiss and Go Ask Malice which are reminiscent of something from Agoraphobic.  It’s Not You That It’s Happening To sounds like it could be the spiritual successor to KRY off Our Summer Is Everyone’s Fall.

Clocking in at over an hour and 18 songs in length, Darling Discordia has something to please everybody.  It is the natural progression in the band’s evolution from the writing of Nurture, Agoraphobic, Our Summer Is Everyone’s Fall and finally Darling Discordia.  If this truly is the band’s death knell, Vagora have come full circle since Agoraphobic to put in the final coffin nails.

Tracklist

(length: ca. 64 minutes)

1.     Soylent Green

2.     Emeralds

3.     Skelital

4.     Coffin Nails

5.     Exit Wounds

6.     It’s Not You That It’s Happening To

7.     Pink Rose Girl

8.     The Healing Powers Of LaFemineen

9.     Empathy & Irony

10. Juniper’s Morning Kiss

11. The Winter Of Discontent

12. Time In Reverse

13. Go Ask Malice

14. My Last Impression

15. In The POD

16. Month Of Sundays
17. Dead Battery
18. Dressed In White