Lunar Aurora - Hoagascht

I sense there will be quite a few people hating on this album, and generally I loathe those people. I appreciate staying trve to a style and cvltivating strict dark arts, but that doesn’t mean I don’t also appreciate it when a band has the balls to do something different, to rock out the way they have the urge to, which is what we see happen gloriously here on Lunar Aurora’s Hoagascht. Gone is the straight up and down epic black metal LA used to play, you can pretty much tell when the first song Im Gartn introduces itself with an obscure synthline, a sound like fairies playing in the distance, lackadaisical and unreal. If you couldn’t tell by that, you know for sure when the alternative/indie rock riff hits next. In the second song we are confronted with a triumphant tremolo black metal riff that is laden with drums that could’ve been found on a Marvin Gaye record. And by the time you reach this point of the album, you’ll probably know if you love it or hate it.

Let’s analyze. Production is rich, more of a shoegaze fuzz to it than previous LA. Guitars play a goth rock-black metal fusion. The drums in general are slow and simple, rhythmic and groovy, only occasionally breaking into a double-kick gallop for variation and emphasis. All of the blast beats have been thrown in the bin, and gone is the speed in general; this is not a fast album. LA have previously used some interesting atmospheric synthesizers, but certainly never anything as stylistically daring as this. These synths exude a kind of dreamy euphoria, an indefinable state of bliss or mystery. They are not chilling, creepy or cold, and nor do they sound like someone blowing spit into a sensitive microphone. If anything one might call them ‘spacy’ or ‘trippy’, the way the hover fleetingly around the riffs. Vocals are rasped, but contain less fury than before and integrate themselves with the music more. Actually, the whole band is very tight, with a nice and evenly meshed sound.

So, let’s cast our black metal purists (and purisms) aside right now and admit what must be admitted, namely that Hoagascht rocks, and is going to succeed in rocking the worlds of many receptive individuals the world over. This is an incredibly atmospheric album with a very clear identity that can be listened to in moments of bliss or excitement or even melancholy.

In summary: Goth/alternative rock-cum-black metal with space age synth vibes sounds like a risky mix, but Hoagascht is just its own thing and I would simply recommend it to anyone who likes rockin’ tracks. Another fantastic album released this year.

Standout tracks: Nachteule, Haabergoass

Score: 9.0