Moonlight Haze (Italy) - melodic metal - "Set the sail and go and leave the tempest behind you"

Moonlight Haze

Beyond

Scarlet Records

23 May 2025

What a fun album! Fans of catchy, positive songwriting and of melodic, upbeat songs in general should find here lots to listen to a couple of times, and then after those couple of times, it’s very likely that the listener will notice that the entire work is worth delving deeper into to see what it is really all about. After a brief mellow and ethereal introduction of some two and half minutes, they begin with a pretty heavy number, and we’re off to the races!

On their three previous albums these Italians were categorized as something like “neosymphonic power metal,” but I have to tell you, this band on their fourth album rocks out. Moonlight Haze sounds energized. It's a good new direction. It's still melodic and catchy, and still elegant, but this is not keyboard-dominant mellow music with super high operatic vocals. While the ballad “L'eco del silenzio” features operatic singing and the Italian language, it is not the total direction of the album. Believe you me, they could do operatic vocals on all the songs, considering that their singer Chiara Tricarico has the ability to sing that way, but Moonlight Haze has chosen rock!

It's heavier, more uptempo, with the drums and guitars taking on a more pronounced presence. I'm happy with the new sound. It assimilates the various phases of their music, and adds a bouncing, rocking feel to it. It works! Now that they are on their fourth album, Moonlight Haze has become more visible on the European scene, and deservingly so. For example, the singer Chiara Tricarico has been singing live with Avantasia, which means that the melodic metal big boss Tobias Sammet, one of the most important figures in power metal, has been paying attention. Really, though, I feel like this band will be achieving a whole lot more success in the future. Fans of melodic metal may want to get on this bandwagon now. It’s not too late, and I’m sure the band is now accepting new applicants, so inquire within.  

Beyond by Moonlight Haze

https://www.facebook.com/moonlighthazemetalband

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Chase The Light (Official Video)

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Awakening (Official Video)

Confessions of a Traitor - This Pain Will Serve You

Confessions of a Traitor

This Pain Will Serve You

Facedown Records

16 May 2025

01 - Starve 2:14

02 - Fatal Frame 3:19

03 - Doomsayer 3:45

04 - Midnight Sun 3:28

05 - Still Haunted 3:26

06 - Love You Left Behind 3:28

07 - Noble Bloom 3:34

08 - Hail Mary 4:00

09 - Let It Consume Me 3:30

10 - The Sins I'm Yet To Answer For 3:06

11 - Half Life 2:33

The sound on this new album depends on a grooving, rhythmic heaviness, with chugging as a central pillar of the songs. This midpaced chugging encourages, I would say, audiences into motion, to move around in some way. It is tons of fun. It should, I would think, put a listener in a better mood. One person might mosh with joy, or another might simply rock back and forth matching the heavy grooves. There is also an abundance of melodies happening. The robust heavy grooves, with the melancholic guitar melodies, and with the addition of background sounds of melodic synths/keys (or something similar) makes the album such a treat.

The vocals are quite a contrast to the ears. On one hand, the extreme vocals can go low and guttural in some spots, and then go into higher, screeching registers. Whichever way we look at it, it is rather harsh growling, and depending on the listeners' tastes, the extreme vocals may be a favorite element, or it might just as well be that some listeners will need a certain amount of time of adjustment to the extreme vocals. There is, in fact, quite a bit of screaming going on, of course, and these vocals run the gamut of subgenres with screaming and growling, like metalcore, hardcore, deathcore and death metal. In general, the band sound is categorized as metalcore.

There are also melodic vocals. Some of the singing is pleasant and gentle, while other parts of the singing are sung with considerable lung strength. Some of the melodic vocals sound a bit like a choir, with multiple voices or layers to be heard. Sometimes the melodic vocals are separate segments appearing at a different time from the extreme vocals, but at other times they both are present simultaneously: extreme and melodic both at once, which may delight some listeners or overwhelm others with a feeling of too much stimulation. Perhaps give the album a few listens before rushing to form an opinion. What seems like too much on a first listen may end up sounding good by the fourth listen.

Formed in 2013 in London, England, the band seems to have the following discography before the 2025 album, according to Wikipedia.

2014 Seasons (EP)

2017 Illuminate (EP)

2019 Guided

2021 Press Start to Play (EP)

2022 Punishing Myself Before God Does

I do not believe that I have heard the 2014 recording, but I have heard all the other ones on that list above. This new album is a smoother listening experience than the earlier, younger more hardcore/metal material, but the new songs are also heavier and more melodic. I would not say that the melancholic elements are as present on the older material as on this new album. The melancholic elements have added another angle for their songwriting. Overall, I like the new material as much as the older music. At this point in their career, they are moving towards a new phase in their sound, I would say. It's a cool transition towards a more expansive range that repurposes what some people consider metalcore in 2025.

Lyrically, the band itself explains, “This record is a heartfelt tribute to those who have experienced profound loss to those who continue to grieve the ones they love. It stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, inviting listeners to find comfort and solidarity in faith, hope, and the shared experience of grief. We grow from trauma. We let it serve us.” Despite the heaviness and the screamed vocals, the music is meant to be a positive experience, to have listeners come away in a better state of mind than when they first heard the album. Mission accomplished.

CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Noble Bloom" Official Music Video

CONFESSIONS OF A TRAITOR "Still Haunted" (Ft. HolyName & Heal The Hurt) Official Music Video

https://www.facebook.com/confessionsofatraitor

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Awakening (Official Video)

The fourth album by Italian melodic band MOONLIGHT HAZE is called Beyond and it comes out on the 23rd of May, 2025. Just the other day there was a new music video from them called "Awakening." It is the third video, actually. Below you will find the three videos from the new album, as well as the Bandcamp link. Now on their fourth album, the band has taken a little bit of a heavier approach on some the material, while still keeping their sound very melodic overall. They strive for a melodic and elegant sound, with high vocals, and that continues on the new album. These three songs provide pretty good evidence that they continue to add elements to their sound and continue to become more comfortable in flexing their muscles a little bit. Having said, the sound is very much recognizable as MOONLIGHT HAZE. If you like to sing along, good luck trying to sing like MOONLIGHT HAZE! May 23rd will be here in no time. These three songs show what's on the agenda.

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Awakening (Official Video)

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Tame The Storm (Official Video)

MOONLIGHT HAZE - Chase The Light (Official Video)