Luna Mortis The Absence
by Matthew Hoffman
Staff Writer
Luna Mortis is an extreme progressive metal act that was formed in 2008 in Madison Wisconsin. Their debut Album is entitled The Absence and is available now through Century Media. It was produced and mixed by Jason Suecof (All That Remains, Trivium) at Audiohammer Studios, Sanford, FL. This region has hosted numerous killer death metal acts both of the ‘80s (Obituary) and modern times (The Absence).
The music itself is outstanding featuring serious hooks and extremely rich melody lines. This is achieved all without sacrificing any of the vile, vicious and vulgar aggression of true metal. The vocals range from traditional to extreme cookie monster style via the sweet pipes of Mary Zimmer.
Several women are now doing these extreme styled vocals with Arch Enemy’s vocalist Angela Gossow being the current flag bearer. Surprisingly enough newcomer Mary Zimmer does them better, with an overall more palatable tone, a sinister nature and a perfectly timed delivery. This is possibly because the music is slanted more towards progressive metal than melodic death metal. She also can actually sing in a traditional way and has a serious amount of charm to boot. This is seen on the initial track of the album “Ash” where Zimmer seamlessly switches over and over from traditional to extreme vocals.
The guitars are also a key cog in this Midwestern Machine blazing from the first note to the last with sweet leads inserted around every corner. The axe boys Brian Koenig on lead guitar and Cory Scheider laying sick rhythms shine throughout. Koenig bring highly technical layered robust soloing as well. His leads and solo work on “Reformation” show perfect tone and excellent technique. Their joint work on “This Departure” show a wonderful feel for the emotion of the instrument, with cleanly picked acoustic notes married together with sick riffs.
But this band is more than the sum of its parts and truly succeeds by being an excellent “team.” The level of cohesion is actually amazing for a brand new band but the polish is evident on every track. Songs beautifully blend together with ease and before you know it you are pissed that it is over.
This is a huge candidate for album of the year for 2009 already! Pick up a copy a.s.a.p.
Band Members
Mary Zimmer -Vocals
Brian Koenig -Lead guitar, vocals
Cory Scheider -Rhythm guitar
Jake Bare -Bass
Erik Madsen -Drums
Label: Century Media
Track Listing
1. Ash
2. Ruin
3. Reformation
4. This Departure
5. The Absence
6. Forever More
7. Never Give In
8. Phantoms
9. Last Defiance
10. Embrace the End
HRH Rating: 8.9/10