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Metal/Prog Metal CD Reviews

Louna

Behind a Mask

Review by Gary Hill

This is quite a cool album. It’s definitely along the lines of modern European epic metal. Still, there’s plenty of older metal here. It’s got a modern aggression and power, but a lot of retro sensibilities. The vocals definitely beg comparisons to Doro, but the music often does, too. They manage to keep it interesting and change it up from song to song, making this a strong disc start to finish.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013  Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
System Destroys

Some crowd sounds open this. Then they power out into a smoking hot jam. This is very heavy and the vocals call to mind Doro.

Fight Club
Aggressive and tasty, this falls closer to European power metal. It’s another winner. It has some mellower moments built into it, too. It’s dramatic and quite cool.
Business

Another with a lot of epic metal in the mix, this is a great tune. It’s not a huge change, yet it seems to work even better than the previous ones. The balance between killer melodies and aggressive metal just seems more effective here.

My Rock n Roll

Although there is a mellow bit at the start, this is more purely aggressive modern metal than anything to this point. It’s a real screamer.

Let's Get Louder

The grinding riff that opens this actually makes me think a bit of Black Sabbath. This has sort of a Doro meets Sabbath vibe in a lot ways.

Up There

The European epic metal is all over this thing It’s definitely epic in scope and one of the real highlights of the set.

The End of Peace

Here’s a powerhouse rocker. This really does sound a lot like something one would expect from Doro. This one gets a parental advisory for the lyrics.

Storming Heaven

There are no huge changes here, but this is another quite effective piece of modern metal. It has a nice balance between the mellower melodic stuff and the harder rocking.

Mama

This screamer is another that feels a lot like Doro. That said, it drops back to more of a straight ahead rock tune, rather than pure metal. It’s one of the more intriguing cuts here. It lends some variety and it’s compelling by itself. This is a song about the music that inspired this music.

Inside

A mellower tune, this is essentially a power ballad. It’s got a lot of progressive rock in the mix. It’s powerful and another great ibt of variety. I love the vocal arrangement on this. It does rock out more later and it makes for a great closing piece.

 
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