From
www.sortedmagazine.com
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Lunaris - ...the infinite (Earache)
For your amusement, Lunaris present an intriguing journey through debased space. At times comfortingly crooned, at others ragingly alien, it's a trip like no other. The listener is pushed towards an unknown destination by spectral hands, now and then glimpsing something familiar. Will it be enough to get him through the terror ahead?
Considering this band is made up of members of Borknagar and Satyricon, it will be no surprise to fans of the genre that "?the infinite" is musically surgically precise. The band function as a concise whole and their work here almost bleeds paranoid atmosphere. Keyboards are particularly well integrated considering the focus of the album on the fear of the unknown lurking both beyond and within. This is the musical equivalent of psychological horror, although not without it's distinct rays of hope and defiance, such as the cosmic solo on '?of the one'.
'Mother of storms' is an especially claustrophobic delight, with all the tidal fury of an Atlantic storm. 'Growth denied' is the quizzical sound of madness encroaching and eventually triumphing. All the many faces of fear are well represented here in what is without doubt a multi-faceted gem of a dark metal album.
This will be a favourite for those who are fascinated by the psychology of fear of the dark and the unknown. It will present a valuable pilgrimage for those who want to delve into the dark recesses of the mind assaulted with all the horror of the infinitely large and the infinitely small. This is, after all, the sound of a mind that can barely cope. Is that what you want to hear? Then look no further. Come on in - Lunaris will hang up your skin.
Dominic Body
