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"Carnivorous Lunar Activities"
Thanks to Steve Chadsey from Ultimatemetal.com
for this review Veterans of the growing Denver metal scene, the purveyors of so-called "Nightmare Metal" have released their first full-length CD, Carnivorous Lunar Activities. Drawing on influences as diverse as Iron Maiden, Rush, Ozzy Osbourne, Testament and Morbid Angel, Cold Moon play what can best be described as thrash metal with varied death metal growls and rasps, with some clean vocals thrown in here and there for good measure. Carnivorous Lunar Activities presents twelve aurally assaulting tunes that present the listener with a well-deserved sonic ass-kicking. Although twelve songs on a single album is almost too much for some listeners to handle, Cold Moon thankfully do not fall prey to the demon of monotony that plagues many younger bands. The offerings on Carnivorous Lunar Activities are quite diverse: "Steel in the Spine" starts the album in a nicely rocking fashion with a great riff that gets the head a nodding. "Conjuring" is a faster number which successfully shifts tempo to a percussive chorus. Cold Moon turn off the gain and the growls for the intro to "Dead Cold", belying what eventually becomes a rip-n-tear thrasher with an extended instrumental passage in the middle that flows away with a great solo over the main riff. The band showcase their blend of influences on one of the albums standout tracks, the instrumental "Cold Moon". Twin guitar leads, standout riffs, contemporary double-bass drumming, this song has it all. The disc closes with the death-anthemic "Hell Riders", complete with blistering picking reminiscent of Iced Earth and shout-along chorus.
Nightmare growler, lead/rhythm guitarist
and Cold Moon founder Chris Moon shows some versatility on many of these
songs, varying the vocal delivery between unearthly growl and lycanthropic
snarl. Guitarist Victor Gregory's masterful and thoughtfully placed leads
are arguably some of the best around; add to that James Rodrock's drumming
and Scott Fisher's work on the bass, and you have something to show the world
that Colorado heavy metal is a force to be reckoned with.
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