One cannot not describe the utter revelation and sheer exultation one experiences when listening to Prophet Of The Last Eclipse. Luca’s mastermind takes you on an idyllic journey into a science fiction world full of absolutely magnificent splendor and although I cannot find all the right superlatives to describe this new masterpiece I can tell you that this is by far the best album I have heard this year. All the dull power metal albums I have recently heard may have numbed my ears and dulled my emotions but Luca has managed to awaken them in a single heartbeat.

I bet you are getting exciting and I am certain your hands are starting to itch to obtain possession of this album and by all means you are damned well entitled to. Unfortunately there’s absolutely nothing I can say about this CD that will do it justice but I’ll nevertheless try. Things have changed since Luca’s debut album King Of The Nordic Twilight and although it sounds improbable, things have changed for the better. Be warned however that, when listening to the Prophet Of The Last Eclipse for the very first time, it won’t hit you as hard as its predecessor did. Don’t be disappointed, the reasons for this are fairly simple. First of all the music has become a whole lot more theatrical and bombastic and reminds in that way a bit more of Rhapsody. Secondly, Luca has bridled his enormous desire to play extensive solo passages and has concentrated more on song structuring instead, resulting in less frivolous but definitely stronger songs. Songs that need to grow on you but their impact is nevertheless the same: you’ll be whistling and singing along in absolutely no time! Finally, the music sounds more up to date and mature with very modern sounding background keyboards that sometimes have a slight techno edge to them.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, Luca hasn’t lowered himself to the use of ‘inferior’ computers. It is just that the sound of the keyboards and the music in general is a whole lot less medieval and a whole lot more futuristic. But then again the story of the album is about love and life on another planet in a distant galaxy, so what do you expect!

Luca once again recruited the excellent German singer Olaf Hayer. Furthermore Prophet Of The Last Eclipse features four different choirs as well as a string quartet and additional guest musicians for the timpani and the cymbals. The result is just phenomenal. It is bombastic, theatrical, diverse, classical but most of all original. Just listen to the twelve minute long title track which is a combination of typical Luca song structuring (double bass drum and driving guitar riffs) combined with an enormous amount of theatrical elements ranging from a Latin choir to classical melodies. A modern day metal overture.

Highlights of the album are the catchy “Rider Of The Astral Fire”, the bombastic “Demonheart” and the aforementioned, theatrical title track. The final impression I want to give you; “Prophet Of The Last Eclipse” is the best album I have heard since Bal-Sagoth’s Starfire Burning Upon The Ice-Veiled Throne Of Ultima Thule. If you are into neo-classical symphonic metal (or Symphonic Cosmic Metal as Luca himself would call it) I urge you to check this album out. It will totally rock your senses!