12/27/2023 0 Comments Lunark ascension![]() This is confident and bold, and delivers music that’s both striking and nuanced. The grim majesty of the first EP is replicated and refined on Lunar Ascension, and the promise shown early on is exceeded masterfully. The music is occult, dissonant, and atmospheric these songs contain a lot of depth and substance. Some of the riffs are chilling and cosmically macabre. He’s also creative and inventive with his songwriting, crafting atmospheric songs that are highly affecting as their darkness unfolds. Although this is music that feels epic and expansive in scope and range, only two tracks exceed 5 minutes, and none last longer than 6. The artist behind this project seems to have a great ability to say a lot with minimal run time. It’s dark and sinister, and seems to suck all light and hope from its surroundings like some form of spectral black hole. On Lunar Ascension we are gifted with 40 minutes of apocalyptic new material. As it turned out, we didn’t have to wait too long for a full length release after all, and here it is. Lunar Ascension is the follow up to the impressive Through Lunar Gateways, which I really enjoyed. This album won’t convert those that don’t care for this area of the black metal spectrum but for those that do there is much to mine and enjoy in Lunar Ascension.Ars Magna Umbrae is a Polish one man black metal band and this is his debut album. A shame too that I didn’t encounter this album closer to its release date as with part of the year to soak in, it would likely resonate even stronger than it does now. Lunar Ascension is indicative of I, Voidhanger in general, a label focused on a small spectrum of sound and doing that sound very, very well. Though initially somewhat of a cacophonous maelstrom similar to the most recent Ævangelist, Lunar Ascension separates itself quickly through its distinct lack of repetition and a much clearer focus on progressing from idea to idea without lingering in one place for very long. The longest tracks (that each still come in under six minute mark) are the aforementioned title track and “Chthonic Torches Of Gnosis”, multi-part sagas that do well in capturing the essence of a journey (for the listener no doubt as much as the artist). There are blastbeat sections aplenty across Lunar Ascension but they’re one component of many rather than being the sole concussive force upon which the album rides. Title track “Lunar Ascension” begins slowly and takes time to meander through cresting waves much as “Fallen Star’s Light” simmers before erupting into cascading walls of obliteration. Surprisingly they’re matched with extremely lean songwriting and a continual melodic core that sets them apart from other bands chasing similar ends (Nightbringer, Akhlys, and a good portion of I, Voidhanger’s roster).Īdditionally and perhaps more importantly, is the band’s willingness to slow down to allow cadence and dynamics to develop around the melodic ideas at play. ![]() Unsurprisingly dissonance and speed are key components of the sound on Lunar Ascension (given the album’s cover art and the band’s previous EP, whatever logos the artist seeks is found through our nearest celestial body). Better late than never, however, particularly in a case like Lunar Ascension when the album is a very solid entry in the inner darkness/outer truth/Gnosticism/occult-focused realm of black metal so pervasive in 2018. Even with a small army it would be near impossible to cover every album that emerges over the course of a given year in a timely fashion.
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