Moonscar - Blood Moon
Self released
Atmospheric Black Metal
6 songs (35'42")
Release year: 2021
Reviewed by Alex

I hope my comments for Moonscar’s debut Blood Moon won't be found condescending or misconstrued. I want to make sure that I was impressed with Blood Moon not because Maria Brkc is the sole female member behind Moonscar, but because she was a solitary musician able to put 35 minutes of music of this quality together.

When first hearing the opener title track I thought the music may be a little bit “paint by numbers”. Blood Moon, the song, does not dwell on a twangy intro too long, and soon launches into crisply produced symphonic black metal with lots of atmosphere behind the riffs and pummeling double bass. Add Maria’s vocals, sounding like an evil shrill banshee, but not as demented as Finnish similar act Anguished, and the picture was complete. That was the first, yet limited, impression. Listening to Blood Moon further, the atmospherics won me over, dynamic rolling melody of Dim Light as well as its strong riffs, adding gothic and mysterious feeling to soaring symphonics of Fate’s Call - the album, although still not super original, came into better focus and I went through it several times, every time Blood Moon grew on me more and more. Darkest Desire opens with an orchestral arrangement also giving this composition a gothic angle, the atmosphere covers the mind like a thick carpet and vocals acquire more macabre enunciation to them. Mortis Ex Animae is just as atmospheric, sounding both dramatic and towering, the male (?) voice chanting behind the mix making the song almost a religious experience. Sure enough, keyboards sound and their prominence in the closer Abyssal Eclipse, the song bringing the album to a chaotic end, make Moonscar sound a little like Dimmu Borgir, but there is definitely enough quality and individuality in Blood Moon for it to both stand on its own two feet, yet also appeal to the fans of the aforementioned Norwegians, Limbonic Art, Alghazanth or Vargrav.

Killing Songs :
Dim Light, Fate's Call
Alex quoted 80 / 100
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