Review by Felix on May 28, 2023.

The endless spheres of the world wide web made it possible that I stumbled over the title track of "Lunaris" some months ago. I had never heard about this obviously talented formation from Poland before, but this song caught my attraction very quickly. Arkona, another band of the highly interesting Debemur Morti label (Arckanum, Behexen, Haemoth...), seemed to stand for constantly flowing black metal with a pretty diabolic atmosphere. Limbonic Arts came to my mind reflexively, although I am quite not sure whether they are the right reference in this context. Yet the affinity of Arkona to pen excessive black metal songs with an average duration of eight minutes ensures a certain proximity to the Norwegian pioneers of the mid-nineties.

All songs convey a continuously demonic, somewhat majestic feeling, because the dark guitar lines take effect, no matter what's the velocity. The album commutes between blast beats and mid-paced velocity. Tempo changes and breaks are carefully selected and their sole purpose is to increase the force of the respective track. Needless to say that the vocals are aligned with the musical approach and therefore one listens to a hoarse, raw and pretty expressive vocal performance. Arkona do not have a singer who prefers high-pitched tones like Schmier or the falsetto of King Diamond, but he is able to interpret the tried and tested formula of the sub genre very well. By the way, the singer is just a session vocalist. I recommend a further engagement, yet I have heard that these black metal freaks do not accept a God, not even me. But that's beside the point.

Just like Limbonic Art, the Polish horde integrates keyboards without triggering a loss of quality by doing so. The synthetic sounds create or underline the eerie atmosphere which keeps the songs of "Lunaris" together. Even a piano shows up during the fourth track and evokes a nice contrast to some vehement blast beats that follow the soft intermezzo. This is another stylistic device which is neither innovative nor surprising, but once again, the band makes very good use of the sub genre's toolbox. And they have the good fortune to offer their songs with a very dense sound which creates a profound heaviness. There can be no doubt that the production does not leave much room for improvement in terms of clean brutality (and you hopefully know what I want to say). Thus, the pretty triumphant yet dark melodies have found a biotope where they are able to develop magnificently.

As a result of all these characteristics, "Lunaris" is another strong Debemur Morti release and a more than competitive album. The Polish underground seems to guard some treasures, for example the blackened thrashers of Ragehammer, the slightly obscure black legion of Deus Mortem and, naturally, Arkona. Although they sing about a "corpse pale moon", I am sure that they can bring more colour into the life of a black metal maniac. If not, the endless spheres of the world wide web will give the possibility to test something else.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Emma on November 18, 2009.

Listening to this album the first time around, a rare sensation came over me. It was a feeling of well over-due refreshment, much like taking that first sip of ice-cold soda from AM/PM after a day’s work of landscaping in the heat of the summer. Yeah, it was exactly that kind of feeling. It was also a surprise, because I find myself rather partial to material using ‘Gothic’ as part of its description. Deciding to leave prejudice behind in this case, I found Gothic is only one of many styles you would use to describe Devar’s sound. "Alternate Endings" is the first album from these Norwegian Gothic metalheads, and features their previously released single "Cold Slither".

Now, what does it take to make the Devar sound? With the help of multiple listening sessions I was able to come up with this;
1. In a large bowl combine equal parts traditional blast beat driven Black Metal and the Rock'n'Roll your parents (and hopefully you) know and love.
2.In a separate bowl take John Lennon/Paul McCartney (melted) and Louis Armstrong for vocals; mix thoroughly.
3. Add Lennon/McCartney/Armstrong mix to Black Metal/Rock'n'Roll mix and stir until just combined.
4.Sprinkle liberally with Gothic temperament and serve chilled.

Why I write until ‘just combined’ is because not all of the styles are all at once blurred together here. "Alternate Endings" starts out very Gothic; actually to the point that it sets up expectations for some gothic-to-the-point-of-Halloween-y kind of music (the female vocals in the here did make me wince, one criticism). Fortunately, the blasting drums and woeful guitars of the second track blew that thought away. By the third track gritty distortion quickly gives way to the unadulterated pure electric guitar sound and a relaxed tempo. Devar’s (the vocalist’s name as well) vocals are spread throughout the tracks but don’t dominate the majority of actual track time, allowing breathing room for everything else. The album continues with some songs starting out with the Black Metal sound and somehow ending up in the indie rock vein of Arcade Fire… it works.

Some may scoff at the gothic image this band has, but don’t be fooled, give Devar’s "Alternate Endings" a chance before dismissing this piece of work. For those who appreciate bands that paved the way for Heavy Metal (and I’m not just talking about the 60’s, go back further), this is a much-deserved break from the majority re-doing what has been done… and done again… and done again…and…

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 8.5
Originality 10
Overall:9

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Emma on November 18, 2009.

Listening to this album the first time around, a rare sensation came over me. It was a feeling of well over-due refreshment, much like taking that first sip of ice-cold soda from AM/PM after a day’s work of landscaping in the heat of the summer. Yeah, it was exactly that kind of feeling. It was also a surprise, because I find myself rather partial to material using ‘Gothic’ as part of its description. Deciding to leave prejudice behind in this case, I found Gothic is only one of many styles you would use to describe Devar’s sound. "Alternate Endings" is the first album from these Norwegian Gothic metalheads, and features their previously released single "Cold Slither".

Now, what does it take to make the Devar sound? With the help of multiple listening sessions I was able to come up with this;
1. In a large bowl combine equal parts traditional blast beat driven Black Metal and the Rock'n'Roll your parents (and hopefully you) know and love.
2.In a separate bowl take John Lennon/Paul McCartney (melted) and Louis Armstrong for vocals; mix thoroughly.
3. Add Lennon/McCartney/Armstrong mix to Black Metal/Rock'n'Roll mix and stir until just combined.
4.Sprinkle liberally with Gothic temperament and serve chilled.

Why I write until ‘just combined’ is because not all of the styles are all at once blurred together here. "Alternate Endings" starts out very Gothic; actually to the point that it sets up expectations for some gothic-to-the-point-of-Halloween-y kind of music (the female vocals in the here did make me wince, one criticism). Fortunately, the blasting drums and woeful guitars of the second track blew that thought away. By the third track gritty distortion quickly gives way to the unadulterated pure electric guitar sound and a relaxed tempo. Devar’s (the vocalist’s name as well) vocals are spread throughout the tracks but don’t dominate the majority of actual track time, allowing breathing room for everything else. The album continues with some songs starting out with the Black Metal sound and somehow ending up in the indie rock vein of Arcade Fire… it works.

Some may scoff at the gothic image this band has, but don’t be fooled, give Devar’s "Alternate Endings" a chance before dismissing this piece of work. For those who appreciate bands that paved the way for Heavy Metal (and I’m not just talking about the 60’s, go back further), this is a much-deserved break from the majority re-doing what has been done… and done again… and done again…and…

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 8.5
Originality 10
Overall:9

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Emma on November 18, 2009.

Listening to this album the first time around, a rare sensation came over me. It was a feeling of well over-due refreshment, much like taking that first sip of ice-cold soda from AM/PM after a day’s work of landscaping in the heat of the summer. Yeah, it was exactly that kind of feeling. It was also a surprise, because I find myself rather partial to material using ‘Gothic’ as part of its description. Deciding to leave prejudice behind in this case, I found Gothic is only one of many styles you would use to describe Devar’s sound. "Alternate Endings" is the first album from these Norwegian Gothic metalheads, and features their previously released single "Cold Slither".

Now, what does it take to make the Devar sound? With the help of multiple listening sessions I was able to come up with this;
1. In a large bowl combine equal parts traditional blast beat driven Black Metal and the Rock'n'Roll your parents (and hopefully you) know and love.
2.In a separate bowl take John Lennon/Paul McCartney (melted) and Louis Armstrong for vocals; mix thoroughly.
3. Add Lennon/McCartney/Armstrong mix to Black Metal/Rock'n'Roll mix and stir until just combined.
4.Sprinkle liberally with Gothic temperament and serve chilled.

Why I write until ‘just combined’ is because not all of the styles are all at once blurred together here. "Alternate Endings" starts out very Gothic; actually to the point that it sets up expectations for some gothic-to-the-point-of-Halloween-y kind of music (the female vocals in the here did make me wince, one criticism). Fortunately, the blasting drums and woeful guitars of the second track blew that thought away. By the third track gritty distortion quickly gives way to the unadulterated pure electric guitar sound and a relaxed tempo. Devar’s (the vocalist’s name as well) vocals are spread throughout the tracks but don’t dominate the majority of actual track time, allowing breathing room for everything else. The album continues with some songs starting out with the Black Metal sound and somehow ending up in the indie rock vein of Arcade Fire… it works.

Some may scoff at the gothic image this band has, but don’t be fooled, give Devar’s "Alternate Endings" a chance before dismissing this piece of work. For those who appreciate bands that paved the way for Heavy Metal (and I’m not just talking about the 60’s, go back further), this is a much-deserved break from the majority re-doing what has been done… and done again… and done again…and…

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 8.5
Originality 10
Overall:9

Rating: 9 out of 10