Lunar Aurora - Hoagascht

This album, "Hoagascht", was my first introduction to Lunar Aurora. The world of black metal is filled with numerous bands, and I’m disappointed in myself that I was not aware of this duo before this week. For a band that has been at it since 1994, this is a wonderful introduction for any metal fan looking for quality output. I have since been looking into their earlier releases, but for now, on with "Hoagascht".

The album opens with the track, 'Im Gartn', and it does set a nice tone for this album of just shy of 53 minutes in length. A standout feature of "Hoagascht" is how well it moves along as a single piece of work. It is best listened to in full as the ambient samples created a cinematic soundscape that built plotlines in my head as it progressed. I had little comprehension of the lyrics as they are all in a Bavarian dialect unbeknownst to this English speaker. With that said, the aforementioned ambient environments of hooting Owls (as heard on 'Nachteule'), foreboding thunderclaps (as heard on 'Wedaleichtn') , and other sounds clearly flesh out a tale where the wilderness is not an inviting refuge; instead, a gauntlet wrought with peril.

The production of "Hoagascht" is not done in a rushed fashion. It is all done in a very organic way, as if to say, they have harvested the finest fruit from a dark and lonely place. The guitars and synths work well constructing a mighty yet gritty vessel for a vocal delivery that resonates a dark motive.

I’m quite pleased with this and ever more so that it has been five years since their last output. Whatever transpired in their hiatus after "Andacht" in 2007, it certainly was a creative boon based on the glowing success that is "Hoagascht".

 

  1. Im Gartn
  2. Nachteule
  3. Beachgliachda
  4. Sterna
  5. Håbergoaß
  6. Wedaleichtn
  7. Reng
  8. Geisterwoid