Moon - Lucifer's Horns

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\r\n  Moon are from Poland and started as a side project of Cezar, founding member of the also Polish, Christ Agony.  Although they were formed in 1996, “Lucifer’s\r\nHorns” is only their third release due to a ten year hiatus. \r\n

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\r\n  The album caught my attention from its first\r\nseconds, because Moon perform their black metal tunes in quite a death metal\r\nway.  Their music is fast with a lot of\r\nmid-tempo breaks.  Drum parts consist of\r\na lot blast beats, fast drum-fills and many changes in the rhythm.  Along with the bass they create a solid\r\nsetting on which Moon’s music is built.\r\n

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\r\n  One can easily discern that this is a guitar-based\r\nalbum with a very heavy and muddy sound. \r\nDown-tuned guitars have the first say, creating an unholy atmosphere\r\nthat is in total agreement with the band’s visual and lyrical concept.  Along with the typical but inspired black\r\nmetal riffs, there is also some death metal riffing that creates the diversity\r\nI mentioned earlier.  Vocals are\r\nperformed by both Cezar and the bassist and consist mostly of mid and high\r\npitched screams and even some low brutal growls.\r\n

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\r\n  The album is produced by Arek “Malta” Malczewski\r\n(Behemoth – “The Apostasy”) and sounds exactly as it should.  Balanced but not flat.  Dirty enough without being chaotic.  The record flows without any low points and\r\neach song is better than the last one. \r\nIf I had to choose, I would say that “Torches Begin To Burn” with the\r\nbeautiful acoustic solo, “Confined In Heaven”, “Zwiastowanie Ognia”, “Night Of The\r\nSerpent” and “Czarny Horyzont”, are my favorite.  No mediocre songs here whatsoever.  There are good parts in all pieces, making the\r\nalbum interesting to listen to.\r\n

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\r\n  To sum up “Lucifer’s Horns” is quite a\r\nremarkable release on the modern black/death metal genre, with a good sound and\r\na compelling atmosphere.  Moon, without\r\nbeing too innovative, are really good at what they’re doing.  I will definitely listen to this CD again in\r\nthe near future and keep an open eye for any forthcoming releases.\r\n

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\r\nMarkos "SR" \r\n

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