LUNAR

LUNAR     “Tempora Mutantur”

By Dr. Abner Mality

Bands that fluctuate between extreme heaviness and extreme melody are nothing unique in today’s metal scene. The post metal genre is virtually founded upon the principle. I call these kind of acts “pendulum bands”. I would definitely put California’s LUNAR under this heading.

They are best described as progressive metal in the DREAM THEATER vein. But with LUNAR, their heavier parts are REALLY heavy. Never in a million years would you hear James Labrie issuing the grinding death growls that Brian Lewis does here. On the other hand, clean vocalist Chandler Mogel sounds so smooth and melodic that bands like TOTO and THE BABYS come to mind. The correct balance between these two poles is extremely difficult to pull off convincingly.

LUNAR is interesting enough that they can make it work. I do think a lot of fans of more melodic stuff, such as our own Colonel Angus, will have trouble adapting to the growls. But open minded music fans should really be able to hitch a ride on “Tempora Mutantur”.

Opening track “A Summer To Forget” is really quirky and twitchy sounding, with neurotic, breathy clean vocals that gradually mutate into deep roars. The pendulum swings wildly in this song, but technically, it’s got some great lead work and drumming, hitting almost thrash metal pace about half way through. That’s just the beginning, because “Fall Back Into Old Habits” is the album behemoth at over 11 minutes. This one is dominated by growls and heavy riffs, but not to the point where it becomes actual death metal. The last third of the track gets kind of funky, with slappy bass and tricky rhythm.

In extreme contrast, “Seasonal Interlude” could almost be a DREAM THEATER ballad, relying mostly on piano, although the growls pop up in the last minute. LUNAR is really whipsawing the listener here, jumping from one pole to another, tossing in smooth cello and an almost hysterical sax solo. “Weakening Winter Touch” is melodic, but the melody is quite dark. The vocal lines on this one are very catchy.

By now, you’re starting to latch on to how LUNAR does things. “Spring In My Step” is a heavy and lively song with a lot of energy and more clean/distorted vocal contrast. Probably my favorite on the album. By the way, the lyrics all deal with the passage of time in some way, making this a loose concept album. The album concludes with the 3 part title track, which ranges from pure pop with a rather corny harmonica solo to fast hard charging metal to a final mixture of elements.

Yes, it is kind of pompous and overbearing, as many prog albums are, but LUNAR have sure hit on a way to keep you engaged, waiting for the next tonal shift and surprising instrumental variety. Not a flawless album, but a real interesting one.

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