Here's a refreshing take on the whole 'female fronted metal band' thing. Luna Mortis hail from Wisconsin, and their debut release on Century Media The Absence is a powerful mix of power, progressive, death, and thrash metal. Fronted by the stunning Mary Zimmer, who handles both soaring melodic vocals and unearthly growls, the band is rounded out by Brian Koening & Cory Scheider on guitars, Jacob Bare on bass, and drummer Erik Madsen. Best way to describe Luna Mortis is a cross between Arch Enemy and Echoes of Eternity, the band laying down a crunchy, at times technical, yet always melodic framework, the songs heavy but always catchy and filled with many hooks at every juncture. The way Zimmer alternates between her powerful clean vocals and evil growls is extremely well done, although she leans towards the melodic style more and uses the growls for dramatic effect. Check her out on the anthem "Reformation", as she almost portrays two characters while Koening and Scheider totally rip out some blazing leads and crunchy riffs, or her poignant delivery on the ballad "The Departure". The title track is a thrashy slice of melodic death metal with some prog for good measure, and the complex ripper "Never Give In" is a workout for the whole band, Madsen flailing away on his drum kit amidst a torrent of intricate riffs and solos from the guitar duo. The drummer goes into full 'power metal double bass drum' mode on the raging "Last Defiance", and the moody "Embrace the End" comes across as a more proggy Arch Enemy, tasty guitar work and tricky time changes abound, Mary going all out with her two vocal styles and really putting on a show.
In a day where bands of this nature are coming out of the woodwork, it's great to hear one that has the goods to back up the hype they are getting. Kudos to Century Media for finding and signing Luna Mortis, now let's see if they can take what they've built on here and run with it.
Track Listing
- Ash
- Ruin
- Reformation
- This Departure
- The Absence
- Forever More
- Never Give In
- Phantoms
- Last Defiance
- Embrace the End
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