Luna Rise – Valentine

Formed in Austria back in 2011, Luna Rise have developed a unique sound that has only been forged by the great talents of Chris Divine(vocals and guitars) , L X (keys and backing vocals) , Andy Earth (guitars) , Rob Rocket (bass) and Lou Garou (drums). Receiving great feedback from their first EP and music video , the band are ready and raring with the release of their first album!

Bringing to the table an intricately woven , powerful piece of work known as “Dark Days and Bright Nights,” Luna Rise make a huge statement with their debut album. This collection fuses together a number of styles from hard rock and metal, to Goth and even pop. The result is a grand piece of work that is deep in texture, plentiful in ideas and indisputably epic.

“Dark Days and Bright Nights” is a fantastic album and with 12 tracks in total, it has plenty to keep your mind occupied! The dramatic vocal lines, the flavoursome guitar work , thumping bass and hard hitting drums, Luna Rise sound like a band that have the experience of a band that’s been around 20 years. Going through the tracks one by one I discovered that the album has great balance with your up-tempo anthems to your slower and softer ballad type tracks. This is always important in maintaining interest and avoiding the listener to find repetition. The great thing about this album is that the level of writing here is exceptional and well thought out leaving no signs of error.

The album throughout has some killer tracks that tantalize taste buds and get you up on your feet rocking and dancing!Luna Rise really know how to create great music and today I am going to focus on a few of my favourites! Some of my highlight tracks include the grand opener “Demons Inside Me,” not to mention the stomping  “RZRKT.” Then finally you have the really catchy and awesome anthem only known as “Silent Screams,” and the lovely heart warming closing track

“ The Anthem Of  The Night.”

“Demons Inside Me” is one of those opening tracks that really sets up the rest of the album and absorbs you completely. You will notice it is full of charge, full of riffage  and feeling. It makes me think of the opening sound track to some action hero episode! The track gives you early impressions on how Chris Divine really drives the song and as you listen further into the album, you notice his powerful presence much more. This song cries brilliance! ( 8 )

As I move on I have selected my next highlight track which goes by the name of “RZRKT.”  This song really takes you on an epic adventure! You have a big and bold intro that feels like giants marching across the lands. You then have this balance between slow and mellow  to lively and loud sections which creates great variation and interesting ideas.  Add a bed of strings to accompany the instrumentation and vocals, then you really feel the texture and depth of this song! I love how the strings and their stabs add dramatics and  dynamic to the song which is refreshing. ( 8 )

My third  highlight track has got to my favourite out of my four chosen songs.  It goes by the name of “Silent Screams.” You could quite easily see this as a computer games sound track or the opening credits music for an animé!  It has everything from tapping guitar work to little sections of soaring riffs, but it is down to the highly catchy choruses that will get you singing along. It has that thickness and warmth you want from a great anthem style track. As I listened to this a number of times, it really grew on me. If Luna Rise continue to write songs like this then their fan base I feel will rocket through the roof quite rapidly! ( 8.5 )

My fourth track is slightly different to the rest of my highlight songs in the form of “The Anthem Of The Night.” The closing track of the album is welcomed by nice oohs and acoustic guitar which is a different approach to what you previously hear. The opening riff  already sends shiver down my spine as it feels warming down to your core.  It jumps back to the dialled down mood with soft lyrics and walking pace riffs before slowly bringing back up the pace. It then brings back in the layered sound of oohs with the mighty riff we first heard at that start. This sends a great feeling through your mind and embraces you! This track is a pretty sweet track to end an album with its soft and sincere display. It brings the album down to feeling calm and collected which is just perfect. The song is just magic ! (8 )

The rest of the album is made up of a number of tracks which delve into a number of areas, testing moods, passion, energy and calming ideas . Chords in particular, I have noticed play a strong part in a lot of the tracks as they are up front and carry everything along. Because this is consistent throughout the album, it feels flowing and the tracks stay aligned really well. Apart from the highlight tracks, most songs are slow to mid tempo numbers. They combine everything from finely detailed,intelligently written sections and instrumentation to heart felt vocal lines, that really brings everything together creating a well rounded piece of work!

  1. Demons Inside Me ( 8 )
  2. RZRKT ( 8 )
  3. Valentine ( 7.5 )
  4. Dancing With Tears In My Eyes ( 7.5 )
  5. For A Reason ( 7.5 )
  6. The Secret In You ( 7.5 )
  7. Silent Screams ( 8.5 )
  8. Worshipping Shadows ( 7.5 )
  9. Until The Stars Have Come ( 7.5 )
  10. In Your Arms ( 7.5 )
  11. The Storm ( 7 )
  12. The Anthem Of The Night ( 8 )

Luna Rise – Official Website : https://www.lunarisemusic.com
Luna Rise @ Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/lunarise