Ukrainian band Vøvk drops new single “Promin” featuring Johannes Persson, the vocalist of the acclaimed Swedish band Cult of Luna, who sang in Ukrainian for the first time.
After a creative break of over two years, Ukrainian Rock band Vøvk is presenting the first single from their upcoming album, slated for release in the autumn. The song draws the listener into an atmosphere of dawn breaking through darkness in a field scarred by steel and scorched by fire. Alongside the track, the band is unveiling a video visualizer inspired by the fantastical imagery of cinema pioneer Georges Méliès.
Watch the official music video through the YouTube player below:
A significant aspect of the song is the collaboration with the vocalist of the Swedish Post-Metal band Cult of Luna. This partnership with Johannes Persson is not only a creative choice but also an act of deliberate support. The musician is deeply engaged with the Ukrainian context, making his participation in the song a confirmation of his personal convictions.
“As a rule of life, I try to say “yes” more often than “no.” What I didn’t know was that Vøvk wanted me to sing in Ukrainian, a language I don’t speak, understand, or have any real grasp of. But hey, why not? All I could do was give it my best. I’m happy with the result and genuinely proud that Vøvk put their trust in me,” Johannes Persson commented on the collaboration.
Oleksandr Kuts, Vøvk’s frontman, added: “This song needed a sense of support and unity. We believed Johannes could bring that feeling — and we weren’t wrong. He took a risk singing in Ukrainian, and delivered it authentically, sincerely, and with his signature sound. We’re endlessly grateful for his trust and courage.”
Structurally, the song is built upon a constant crescendo of tension, reaching its peak with Johannes Persson‘s entrance. This emotional intensity organically blends with the song’s profound symbolism, revealed through the contrast of darkness and light. The motif of potential blindness from beauty emphasizes the power of faith amidst the turmoil of events.
Vøvk promises more unexpected collaborations and sonic experiments. Follow them on social media to stay updated. The track “Promin” (“Ray“) is now available for listening on all music platforms.
The band spoke exclusively with Progressive Rock Journal and its founder Jacopo about the making of this premiere and shared some insights with us.
Jacopo // PRJ: ”Promin” marks your first release in over two years and features the remarkable collaboration with Johannes Persson singing in Ukrainian for the first time: how did this artistic partnership come about, and what did you aim to achieve with this linguistic experiment?
BAND: ”Johannes Persson is a key figure in modern Heavy Music, and for us, it’s especially meaningful that he’s actively engaged in the context of Ukraine’s resistance against russian aggression. For the entire Ukrainian heavy scene, it’s vital to be heard and understood around the world – and it’s thanks to artists like Johannes that this becomes possible.
We believed Johannes could be the voice of support this song needed – and we weren’t wrong. He agreed to sing in Ukrainian, a language he doesn’t speak, and delivered something honest, authentic, and unmistakably his. In the end, art is first and foremost about emotion – and feeling can speak louder than words.
This collaboration had to happen in this song – a piece about love for one’s homeland, even when it’s wounded by war. It needed a voice that could convey that duality – pain and love, destruction and hope.
We’re incredibly grateful to Johannes for his trust and courage.”
PRJ: How do the atmosphere and thematic elements of “Promin” foreshadow the concept and sound of your upcoming album, and what can fans expect in terms of musical evolution compared to your previous work?
BAND: ”We chose a very specific way to talk about the war – a reality that surrounds us – without using the word “war” or leaning on military imagery. Instead, we focus on emotions: stress, anger, helplessness, hope, uplift – the full spectrum of what we’ve been living through.
In real life, war often looks much stranger and more mundane than it does in books, films, or news reports. People wake up in the middle of the night to air raid sirens, go to work in the morning, check front-line updates during their break, worry about loved ones in danger, and go to a concert or a play in the evening to raise funds for the army. That concert might be interrupted by another siren, and people simply head back home. This paradox of fear and routine has become part of our daily lives.
We translated those feelings into storylines that weave together into a single narrative across the album, with imagery of nature and animals threaded throughout. “Promin” is the first chapter in that story.
Musically, we were inspired by the diversity of Progressive Rock – from Rush and King Crimson to The Mars Volta and Mastodon – combining complex structures with more accessible forms like verse/chorus, in a way more typical of alternative rock bands like The Smashing Pumpkins or Deftones. We aim to make our songs emotionally rich and structurally layered, while still keeping them understandable and relatable.”
PRJ: The Ukrainian Prog‑Rock scene is gaining increasing international attention: what message do you hope to convey to the global audience with this single, and how do you perceive your music’s role within Ukraine’s current cultural and social landscape?
BAND: ”We wouldn’t say there’s a traditional scene structure in Ukraine right now. Instead, there are communities of like-minded people – musicians living civilian lives and continuing to perform thanks to the soldiers holding the front line, and often performing for them as well. Nearly every concert today carries not only a cultural purpose but a volunteer one – raising funds for the army.
From the outside, a soldier might seem like a clear-cut image: someone in uniform, armed, disciplined. But to us, it’s often a guitarist from a friend’s band who needs essential protective gear – a helmet, a bulletproof vest – just to stay alive on the front line. A drummer from three local projects who’s asking for medical supplies for his unit. These stories are tightly interwoven with our shows – and with our ability to keep creating.
Maybe it’s not trendy right now to make conceptual records or tell long stories. But we still want to do that. Progressive Rock has always been about more than complex music – it’s about narrative. And in a time of deep emotional intensity, we believe it’s important to speak about difficult experiences, to share them, to connect.
We truly hope that the emotional depth, the dramatic arcs of our music and storytelling, can resonate with listeners around the world – even if they don’t understand the language. Because music is a universal language. And the desire to explore something new, unfamiliar – isn’t that what Progressive rock is all about?“
Vøvk Biography:
Vøvk is a Ukrainian band from Kyiv that blends Progressive Rock and Post-Hardcore, taking the best elements of both genres. Their songs are a fusion of ordered chaos, emotionality, and experimentation. The lyrics explore the intersection of the symbolic and the personal, creating phantasmagoric narratives.
Vøvk’s history includes two European tours, numerous charity concerts, performances on Ukraine’s underground stages, and participation in festivals such as Faine Misto, Gogolfest, Winter Mass VI, Barrockko Fest, Rock-n-Buh, Respublica, Impulse Fest, Electric Meadow, and Kazka Family Fest.
Vøvk‘s discography includes the album “Lair” and a cover of the song “Sho Z-Pod Duba” by the band DakhaBrakha. Their most recent single “Tiger“/”Tyhr” is the band’s song in two languages, which, along with “Promin” (“Ray“), will be featured on their second full-length album.