Moonlight Haze - Lunaris (2020)

Unleashing a bombastic and lively Symphonic/Power Metal release, today we have Italy’s Moonlight Haze with “Lunaris”. Delivering almost 56 minutes of high-octane music, this band borrows from the greats to create a very lively and personable sound of their own. Highly recommended for fans of bands like Sirenia, Nightwish, Delain, etc., this release features both intensity, a hard rocking attitude, alongside catchiness and excellent musicianship.

The album kicks off with the soaring vocal arrangements of “Till The End”, the band’s vocalist Chiara Tricarico nicely provides a signature staple to the band’s sound while showing the versatility of changing between classical style to a more playful typical heavy metal style singing. This versatility is what allows tracks like “The Rabbit Of The Moon”, “Lunaris”, and “Under Your Spell” to deliver a wide spectrum of styles, as the band crafts effective power ballads and catchy heavy guitar laden pieces.

Our favorite track is the brilliant “Enigma” and its crafty tempo changes and its non-English singing, making it different from the rest. The band’s overall musical abilities are quite solid, perfectly delivering intricate synths, crafty drum patterns, and engaging twin guitars as we can hear on the Nightwish-esque “Wish Upon a Scar”, “The Dangerous Art of Overthinking”, and the melod-dramatic “Without You”.

Winding down with the folky “Of Birth And Death” and the lush “Nameless City”, Moonlight Haze manages to deliver an exciting release filled with lush arrangements, solid vocal melodies and an overall lively and catchy vibe. The band’s sound combines elements from countless others, but the vocals and their creativity allows them to carve their own unique sound. If you are a fan of the genre, this is one very solid addition to your collection, and one of the best releases of 2020 in the genre.

Label: Scarlet Records

Release: June 12th, 2020

Genre: Symphonic/Power Metal

Country: Italy