Moon Incarnate - Hymns to the Moon

#FOR FANS OF: Death/Doom

The German trio Moon Incarnate, born in 2022, has recently released its debut, 'Hymn to the Moon', with the well-known label Iron Bonehead Productions. With just two years of existence, things have moved quite fast, which is not a big surprise considering how experienced are the musicians involved in this project. All the members have at least other two side-projects, a fact that clearly shows how active they are in the metal scene. This indicates that the musical vision behind Moon Incarnate was quite clear for them, which led them to rapidly focus their efforts on their first release, which is a pivotal moment for any project.

Moon Incarnate's sound is firmly rooted in the doom/metal subgenre, with a classical touch that I would mention. The influence of quintessential projects, especially from the mighty 90s, is clearly present and serves as a lighthouse for them. Their debut album, 'Hymns to the Moon,' also features old-school album artwork and consists of seven enjoyable pieces of pure doom with expected elements and enriching arrangements that are always welcome. The riffing plays a main role, as you can imagine, with a good dose of very competent riffs and appealing melodies. The vocals are harsh, but they don't exclude the use of clean ones, while the arrangements are used in a very good way and quantity. The guitar harmonies of the album opener "Hymn to the Moon" are a good taste of what to expect. This is pure doom with its slow pace accompanied by tasteful guitar riffing. Things become serious with the first track, "The Tempest." The somber riffing is complemented by deep and intimidating growls, while the pace is even slower compared to its predecessor. The atmospheric touch of this track gives an epic feeling and definitively enriches the composition. Some clean vocals are already included here, but just in the form of narrative voices. This is generally how these vocals are used, but we have a couple of good examples of a more relevant use, like for example in "Nemesis." The track has an interesting contrast between the mainly guitar-oriented structures and some atmospheric moments, where clean vocals are generously used, achieving an enjoyable combination. Furthermore, although this album's pace isn't particularly varied, a track like "Nemesis", offers a slightly faster rhythm with a good use of the double bass. The aforementioned atmospheric arrangements are used in moderate quantity, but they always work. It can be an introducing dark keynote, some vocal imitating synthesizers, or a similar resource, but they always give an extra point of richness and ambience to the composition. 'Hymns to the Moon' comes to its end with one of the best tracks, entitled "The Kraken". An album closer has the responsibility of ending the album on a high note, and this track achieves its duty. Here we can find another interesting use of clean vocals, in this case as the track opener. Once again, these soft vocals are used in a remarkably atmospheric section, which marks a great contrast to the following traditional/doom part, where growls and riffs command the song until its powerful finalization.

In conclusion, 'Hymns to the Moon' is a very solid first step in Moon Incarnate’s career. The listener will find here seven songs of trademark doom/death metal, appropriately enriched with different elements that give them their own personality. (Alain González Artola)

(Iron Bonehead Productions - 2024)
Score: 78

https://moonincarnate.bandcamp.com/album/hymns-to-the-moon

In Autumn - What’s Done Is Done

#FOR FANS OF: Death/Doom

Founded in 2011, the Italian band In Autumn hasn’t been particularly prolific, as they have released only three albums in more than a decade of existence. Its line-up has been reasonably stable, although they have changed the lead singer a few times which is always a quite crucial element, so this might explain why they have taken more time to release new music. In any case, as I always say, it’s better to focus on quality instead of quantity as we can also see bands which release so much music that it can lead to some boredom.

Let’s focus on In Autumn’s new opus entitled 'What’s Done Is Done', which has been released by the well-established Italian label My Kingdom Music. In Autumn combines doom and post-metal sounds, which makes its music a bit more dynamic and varied than the typical doom metal band. Which doesn’t change is the expected melancholy and despair that the music breathes, a fact that it is not totally surprising as both genres, even being different, share this approach when music is created. Vocally, there is a mixture of slightly rasped aggressive vocals and a quite melancholic clean ones which are well-balanced in their use, being the most usual ones the aggressive ones, although the use varies depending on the song. The guitar tone has a greater influence of post-metal sounds, particularly when it sounds heavier, while the most melodic riffing has a clear classic doom metal approach. This is clearly noticeable in the album opener "What’s Done Is Done" where the band uses all the aforementioned resources. The most melodic riffs are especially welcome, as the sole use of post-metal style riffing may sound a bit repetitive for me. As always, balance is the key element, and this composition achieves its goal of using both sides in a very good way. "Inside My Soul" is one of those compositions where the different elements are used, succeeding with creating a great contrast between the different sections of the song. The first half has the most melancholic touch with those clean vocals and a calmer pace, while the second half brings back the more aggressive vocals and a good use of lead guitar melodies. This, combined with a faster pace, makes this song of the most enjoyable ones. Another highlight of the album is the track "The Illusion Of Reality". For sure, one of the heaviest ones. Here we can enjoy some of the most powerful riffs, use of the double bass and a headbanging inducing pace. I do also enjoy the combination of nice lead guitar melodies and the clean vocals in the chorus, which helps to make this song particularly addictive. The contrast between heaviness and melody is even clearer in the track "Block", which also has a quite vivid pace. As it has been the case in other compositions, heavier and calmer sections come abruptly one after the other, although this song is maybe the clearest example of this approach. The ups and downs in the intensity of the song achieves to get the attention of the listener from the very beginning to the end.

At the end, 'What’s Done Is Done' is for sure a quite entertaining piece of work. Its mixture of doom and post metal gives to the album a more varied touch and helps to create quite enjoyable tracks. The solid performance makes this work a good dose for those who enjoy this mixture of genres, although it doesn’t bring anything new on the table. (Alain González Artola)

(My Kingdom Music - 2024)
Score: 73

https://mykingdommusic.bandcamp.com/album/whats-done-is-done

Linnea Hjertén - Nio Systrar

#FOR FANS OF: Folk Music

Coming from Sweden, the young artist Linnea Hjertén presents its first effort entitled 'Nio Systrar' (Nine Sisters), which has been released by the well-known Swedish label Nordvis. Linnea’s obvious inspiration comes from her country’s folklore and traditional music. Instead of sorely focusing on creating songs which would be a mere portrait of traditionalism, this talented artist is influenced by a different range of projects and styles. In this album, she tries to blend these influences under behind the curtain of a darkened folk music.

Names like Forndom may come to your mind when you listen to Linnea Hjertén, or even the most ethereal sections of Wardruna, although other influences, a la Dead Can Dance, have also something to say in the conceptual inspiration of 'Nio Systrar'. Leaving aside other names, what Linnnea offers us is a dose of atmospheric folk with a strong ritualistic touch. Her angelic and ethereal voice is the driving force of this album, while the added folk instruments create the captivating ritualistic atmosphere around her. It is unsurprising to read that the artist herself mentions that the music was mainly composed in loneliness and with the lights off. I would also strongly recommend doing the same, both being at home or in the twilight moments of the day in the forest.

Linnea’s beautiful voice opens the album with a whispering voice in the album opener "Noder" while a background percussion and atmospheric arrangements, play a secondary role. This approach sets the bar of what we can expect from this album. An even more mysterious tone can be heard in "Vägen In", with this interesting combination of voices which is by far the most captivating aspect of this album and where Linnea has put more effort into it. In general, all the songs follow similar patterns, being some of them almost ambient pieces where the vocals are omnipresent, while others have a slightly greater presence of an acoustic rhythmic base. This homogeneity makes difficult to choose the highlights of the album, although I consider that "Vägen In" and more particularly "Återfödelse" and "Vägen Ut" are the ones whose vocals are especially captivating.

'Nio Systrar' at the end, is with no doubts a very pleasant and hypnotic experience. From my humble point of view, I would welcome a greater and more varied use of folk instruments, as I consider that this would help to create a more varied and surprising compositions. This kind of music perhaps does not need to be particularly varied, but an extra work on this aspect would be very positive, and it would surely help Linnea standing out from other projects. (Alain González Artola)

(Nordvis Produktion - 2024)
Score: 72

https://linneahjerten.bandcamp.com/album/nio-systrar