LUNA AD NOCTUM „“Sempiternal Consecration””

Music: Symphonic Black Metal
Website: www.lunaadnoctum.com
Country: Poland
Duration: 41:13
Cool Songs: Avast!, Sempiternal Consecration, Into the Pentagram

Poland’s LUNA AD NOCTUM recently released their third album “The Perfect Evil in Mortal.” After listening to this latest offering then revisiting their previous effort “Sempiternal Consecration,” released in 2004, one can see an “evilution” in the band’s sound. “Sempiternal Consecration” displays many of the same elements of “The Perfect Evil in Mortal,” in particular the symphonic keyboards. These keyboards are not as apparent, though as “Perfect Evil.” “Sempiternal” still looks to the meat and potatoes of metal, guitars.

Catchy guitar rhythms rule the day on “Sempiternal.” Tomas Infamous and Blasphemo-Abyssum Invocat play a variety of guitar styles ranging from the usual death metal grinding and black metal tremolo to complex time changes and weird rapid string bending. The album’s title track shows their fingers staying quite busy traveling back and forth on the fret then transitioning into some palm-muted chugging. A low-end tremolo-picked rhythm further into the track creates a sound similar to “Angel Grinder”-era LORD BELIAL. This track is diverse and the rhythms are memorable, definitely one of the best songs on the album. “Avast!” is another excellent track of skilled guitar playing. This track opens with the bizarre, spacey fast string bending that is apparent through out the album. Later on into the song, the duo busts out an all-out fist pumping, thrash march in the vein of OLD MAN’S CHILD. The album’s final track shows the band paying homage to Swiss black metal stalwarts SAMAEL with their cover of “Into the Pentagram.” LUNA AD NOCTUM does a good job of staying true to the original song, but not losing their identity.

As mentioned above, “Sempiternal Consecration” sounds like the album that developed into “The Perfect Evil in Mortal.” Each track is straightforward, guitar-heavy black metal accentuated by keyboards passages and with out the poor production values championed by many bands of this genre. The vocals are also stripped down with sparse moments of demonic vocal effects. “Sempiternal” is a black metal album of catchy guitar playing and complex rhythm changes. It is recommended for fans of OLD MAN’S CHILD, LORD BELIAL, and SAMAEL.

note: 7/10

Tracklist

1. Premonition… (Intro)
2. Sempiternal Consecration
3. Devotion in Sin
4. Death Threatened…Tantalizing
5. Lucifer's light
6. Avast !
7. Harass Me
8. Inner Predator
9. Six Common Salvations
10. Into the Pentagram

Line-up

Adrian Nefarious – bass, vocals
Dragor Born In Flames – drums
Blasphemo-Abyssum Invocat – guitars
Tomas Infamous – guitars