Luna Obscura - Feltia 4.5/5
Reviewed: 7-24-09
Tracklist:
1. Enochian chant
2. The burden of solitude
3. Oronar
4. Ex caelis oblatus
5. Symphony of sighs
6. Codex daemonicus 1516
7. The ancient one
8. Waltz into darkness
9. Away
10. Dance of forsaken souls
11. 5 visions
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I'm excited about this band! Out of Greece, Luna Obscura (latin for "dark moon") finally brings us their full-length debut 'Feltia', after nearly a decade in the demo stage. The good thing is, this debut comes off as much more than a debut, and is instead along the lines of something you'd expect from a band's 3rd or 4th CD. The band has obviously taken the time to create something tremendous, and I think they've greatly succeeded.
As for the CD's style, it's probably best described as gothic/doom metal, but there are also influences from symphonic metal, atmospheric metal, and even death metal. The band contains the "beauty and the beast" vocal style, which I'm totally into (if you didn't already know that). Gogo Melone is the "beauty" and she has a soaring voice that can easily be labeled excellent. Aris Potonos is the "beast" (of the death metal type), and he too is excellent - nearly up there with the best "beasts" of the genre, including those from Draconian, Sirenia and Amederia. Plus, there are some occasional black metal vocals (another "beast"), by the band's guitarist, Dimitris Papachristos. Basically, the vocals are of high quality and there's quite a variety, so fans of the "beauty and the beast" vocal style are going to be very happy with this CD.
Rather than provide a few specific band comparisons, this time I'm going to give you a large list, as I truly feel this debut will appeal to fans of any of the bands. This list includes Epica, To Elysium, Theatre of Tragedy (early), Eeriness, Via Mistica, Tiarra, Sirenia (early), Odes of Ecstasy, Penumbra, Macbeth (early), Myriads, Elnordia, Trail of Tears, Inner Shrine, After Forever (early), Even Song, Vanguard, Tristania (early), Dakrya, The Sins of Thy Beloved, Tetriconia, Draconian and Amederia. Really, if you're familiar with this list (group) of bands, 'Feltia' is the next CD that needs to be added to your collection.
One aspect I like about this CD is that it's very heavy, and even intense at times (though a minor argument could be made that the music's too heavy for Gogo's voice at times). It's got the perfect level of emotion, the perfect balance of tempo (for the style), and there are plenty of hooks. All of the songs are awesome and I'm unable to pick favorites, as they're all at the same level of quality (which is a good thing of course), though I will mention that the opener "The burden of solitude" (following the intro "Enochian chant") starts the CD off in an extremely powerful manner. This is an outstanding CD for the style, it's as simple as that. So if this is one of the styles you enjoy, there's no reason for you to pass on this.
CLINT
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