Lunar Shadow

Lunar Shadow

The Smokeless Fires

Cruz Del Sur Music

14 June 2019

The second album by the German band finds them changing vocalist, but by all accounts the new singer is a good addition and now there is a feeling that the picture is complete, considering the criticism on the vocals that they received on their strong debut album (2017). One of the most characteristic traits is the use melodic guitar in impressive and convincing ways, but the other thing that explains why the band is getting such good reviews is that, despite the fact that on the surface it is labeled traditional heavy metal, the guitar work brings a certain new energy to the genre, and this is catching the attention of people that are listening closely. Well, ok, what is it, then? Let’s start with the first song because the first song, correctly or incorrectly, is determining the primary color of the impressions about the album. The first track is called “Catch Fire.” After 45 seconds of somber classical-style keyboards (piano?), the song kicks into high gear and the uptempo, melodic black metal guitar is stellar, and if we were to ignore the melodic singing (good stuff) for argument’s sake, the song is classy melodic black metal with a big rock production. With the guitar soloing, and well-placed mellow segment, this song becomes the type that the band will have to play live now and forever until they break up.

The album presents a wide variety of tempos; therefore, this is not a one-trick pony. Even so, the melodic guitar, the tone of the guitar, the vibes of the melodies, and the soloing continue to hold sway as a main attraction on the album. Not all the songs feature prominently the fast tremolo picking of melodic black metal, but the expertise of the guitar in general is impressive and worthy of investigation. By the way, as a general reference, there are quite a few places where the band does launch into the heavy metal/fast melodic black metal moments. For instance, the last song is another track where this happens, and they even go headlong into some uptempo speed, and then they take it to the maximum with a bit blasting. In the reality, the last three songs feature awesome headbanging, fast moments, while always giving the songs room for other moods, not just speed. On the opposite end of the spectrum, they have a ballad that stays a ballad, without any attempts to distort the song into something else. The keyboards (piano?) and the singing form the foundation of the song, and there’s some guitar, but it’s not rocking, it’s slow, mellow, melodic. In terms of instrumentation, the rest of the band sounds good, the rhythm section is a good listen on the album, and the band has avoided the clicky drum sound, and features a pretty robust bass guitar sound, too. The singing fits the music and it sounds very capable and competent. In other words, if some people felt that these Germans had potential before, then now that potential is a reality. The reason that some people have been raving about them is because of the how fresh the band’s take on the music is. You might get a sense that this band is headed for bigger things, and this album is a strong sophomore effort of uptempo yet somber, melancholic melodic heavy metal with a strong dissected injection of melodic black metal guitar.

lunarshadow.bandcamp.com