Lunarsea is an act from Italy who show that even here, in the country with the least extreme acts (but certainly not the least acclaimed) in Europe, metalheads have also, at last, fallen for the seduction of the sweet and melodious Gotenbörg Death Metal thing. Lunarsea is hailed on the promotional material as a mixture of Children Of Bodom and In Flames. While the catchy melodies that form the core of the music these kind of acts are most of the time, at least in my opinion, immediately attractive, the point with these releases is of course originality – how far can you go with maidenesque rhythms and leads along with the usual screamed vocals? My first impression is that Lunarsea actually add something to the style. The general sound is reminiscent of the better exponents of the Gotenbörg style: elements of Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, Nightshade and early Omnium Gatherum can be discerned. Especially the thin guitars and thick but restrained layers of synth remind me of the latter, for example on ‘Hate Net On Barren Hearts’ or the instrumental ‘Onirica Frequencies’. The grunted vocals are indeed comparable to COB, which isn’t a compliment in my eyes, since they shine in absence of emotion or variance.

Their technical level, as shown in the (keyboard) solo’s, is however also comparable to the Finnish outfit, which is a good thing. Here stops the comparison with COB though. What Lunarsea offers is the traditional non-offensive, well played, harmonic riffing and fitting melodies – and I can say that within the genre this is one of the better things I`ve heard for some time. Expect no complexities: this kind of music is not made for the intriguing long passages, intricate structures or an intellectual approach on music. This kind of metal is made for swift satisfaction with it’s invigorating melodies and rhythms, and Lunarsea do it well. So why do I judge this Italian effort as a worthy addition to the tried-n-true style? Lunarsea add a lot to the cooking pot: the extra spices are poppy clean vocals (‘Beside The River’), fitting keyboard solos (Dead End Road, He Walked), relaxed bass-heavy acoustic parts (Solstice Woman) and effective power metal riffs here and there. It must be said however, if you’re not a big fan of this genre put on your favourite Dark Tranquillity album, if you have one at all, and ignore this release. If you, however, could use some expansion on it, I’d recommend this disc.