Luna’s Call - Void

Luna’s Call are incredibly thought provoking and complex with their second album, “Void.” Merging the likes of Opeth meets Cynic, there are tons of jazzy riffs, crushing growled vocals opposing soft, harmonized cleans, and a roller coaster ride of paces that keep listeners on edge with every track. The opening track pretty much sums up what to expect from these U.K. musicians- Dream Theater-esque progression (minus keyboards) with very jazz laden technical riffs that would make fans of groups like Obscura proud and a relatively clean production so nothing is buried and everything can be enjoyed. On tracks like ‘Signs’ the evidence of the Opeth influences can really be seen, although the spacier interludes definitely feel like some Ihsahn influence in there too (on the prog side, not the black metal side). The track is dense and a lot of digest with so much going on, so be prepared.

The longer pieces like ‘Solar Immolation’ can tend to drag out a bit, but Luna’s Call make it as progressive as possible, bouncing back and forth between the more aggressive and softer tones to keep listeners interested. If one can stay hooked for that track, then the rest of the album should come easy. The softer pieces like ‘Enecladus…’ are the more interesting ones on “Void.” Completely devoid of death metal elements, the haunting vocals really shine, making it probably one of the top tracks on the album, and bringing one back to nostalgic days of progressive death metal with an album like “Ghost Reveries.” While not as all over the place as some of the longer tracks, there are still plenty of jazzy elements that present tons of twists and turns on the ear so it doesn’t feel like one long repeated riff all the way through. Even heavier tracks like ‘In Bile They Bathe’ which is probably the fastest on the album, feature varied moments a lack of any softness. For those who like more aggressive tones, this is for them.

It is very hard to find much fault in this album. Even the simple instrumental of ‘Silverfish’ is catchy though it lacks the vocal hooks of a previous track like ‘Enceladus And The Life Inside’ And though the closing ‘Fly Further Cosmonaut’ is not the grand epic one might be looking for, it has some very memorable riffs and builds well on itself- starting out slow and then explodes into the heavier sections later. Overall, Luna’s Call is one to watch for if one is looking for the likes of groups like Ne Obliviscaris, mid era Opeth, or even the last Cynic album. Prog takes a lot to do it right, and Luna’s Call hit that nail right on the head. Their technical prowess is interesting enough and though they pull a lot of influence from their predecessors, they structure their music in a manner that doesn’t feel like a rip off of any one group. True, there are some ‘weird moments’ such as jazz breakdown in the middle of ‘Fly Further Cosmonaut’ but it works well as the perfect build up to the death metal driven moments. Definitely worth checking out if one likes epic, drawn out metal.

4.5 / 5 STARS 

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1. Merced’s Footsteps
2. Signs
3. Solar Immolation
4. Enceladus And The Life Inside
5. Locus
6. In Bile They Bathe
7. Silverfish
8. Fly Further Cosmonaut


Self released
Band: https://www.facebook.com/lunascall
Reviewer: Colin McNamara
Nov 12, 2020
Next review: Romuvos - The Baltic Crusade

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