Tag: ROBERT E. HOWARD

LUNAR SHADOW’s “Wish To Leave”: listen to “Serpents Die”, pre-orders open!

Enrico

A new, bold frontier from one of Germany’s most intriguing acts!

RELEASE DATE: March 19, 2021

CD PRE-ORDER

LP (BLACK VINYL, INSERT & DOWNLOAD CODE) PRE-ORDER

Wish to Leave was recorded from July to November 2020 in Leipzig under the careful eye of engineer/producer Max Herrmann; V. Santura of Dark Fortress and Triptykon fame mastered the album. The six songs found herein are interwoven with melody and darkness with stripped-down guitars and greater emphasis on vocals as well as the rhythmic aspects of Lunar Shadow, who are completed by vocalist Robert Röttig, second guitarist K. Hamacher, bassist S. Hamacher and drummer J. Zehner. It is an album sure to intrigue and puzzle — while several Lunar Shadow sonic trademarks remain in place, Wish to Leave represents a new direction sound borne out of artistic restlessness and ceaseless creativity from Birbaum.

The Wish to Leave album title is an abstract token of escapism. It describes the vague longing Birbaum sometimes has — a wish to leave everything behind him, namely, love and friendship. It is an all-encompassing title, tying together Birbaum’s idea that Wish to Leave is Lunar Shadow’s “big city album.” Indeed, a lot of the lyrics were inspired by Birbaum’s late-night walks home in Leipzig — dark alleys, concrete, the sound of boots clicking against the sidewalk, the gutter, dirt and broken glass all served as the backdrop for his lyrical ideas. Like The Smokeless Fires, Wish to Leave explores themes of love and the complexity of relationships. Acclaimed author Robert E. Howard is again used as inspiration — his stories The Screaming Skull of Silence and The Striking of the Gong served as the lyrical foundation for “And Silence Screamed.”

THE SMOKELESS FIRES

Enrico

German metallers LUNAR SHADOW will enter Glooven Studios in Leipzig to begin work on their sophomore album, “The Smokeless Fires”, which will see the light of day in early 2019 via Cruz Del Sur Music.

 

The follow-up to 2017’s “Far From Light” will mark the first LUNAR SHADOW album to feature new singer Robert Roettig, who replaces Alex Vornam. After a couple of live appearances with DESASTER, SPELL, TOKYO BLADE and VISIGOTH and a much-needed break away from the guitar, lead guitarist Max ‘Savage’ Birbaum started assembling new songs, which, as he explains, will take LUNAR SHADOW in a new, but also familiar direction.

“Robert sounds different — his vocals are a bit more high-pitched than before, yet he still has this obscure-Valusian touch to it,” says Birbaum. “I’d say that the album sounds a lot like LUNAR SHADOW, yet with some new elements. I guess you could say that there are more black metal-influences this time, more DISSECTION riffs and even some blast-beats, but still held together by twin guitar leads. Yet, as always, I just do what I want to do, so there will also be a piano ballad plus a song with New Wave-influences. The album sounds like if WISHBONE ASH played ‘Far Away From the Sun’ by SACRAMENTUM back in 1976 while having sex with a dryad.”

 

Whereas “Far From Light” tackled lyrical topics about death, “The Smokeless Fires” will be about another crucial element of the human spectrum: passion. “‘The Smokeless Fires’ are our passions, the things that drive us on, keep us going, prevent us from death, things that break us down, shatter us, make us vanish,” notes Birbaum. “[New song] ‘Laurelindórenan’ is inspired by the writings of Tolkien, ‘Red Nails (For The Pillar Of Death)’ and ‘Conajohara No More’ are based upon stories by Robert E. Howard. The lyrical themes haven’t changed that much, I still write about life, death, lost love, depression, ancient cities, broken swords and ghastly spells.”

 

The album’s artwork was created by Portland, Oregon-based artist Adam Burke, who previously handled the band’s 2015 “Triumphator” EP. Depicting a storm of fire lingering around two lovers, the album cover, like most of Burke’s work, is visually-appealing and fits the album’s themes perfectly. “The combination of two, forming something strange and beautiful,” says Birbaum. “Love is maybe one of our strongest passions. We long for it, we lose it, we starve ourselves to get it, we throw it away, when we weary. Love is important. And a good reason to die for.”

 

“The Smokeless Fires” track listing:

1. Catch Fire
2. Conajohara No More
3. Roses
4. Pretend
5. Laurelindórenan
6. Red Nails (For The Pillar Of Death)
7. Hawk Of The Hills

ROSAE CRUCIS SIGN WITH CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC!

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(A seguire testo in Italiano)

ROSAE CRUCIS started working on the new songs for their next album that will be out on Cruz Del Sur Music.
Named after an ancient, esoteric order, this band from Rome is well known to Italian metalheads.
ROSAE CRUCIS  in fact have been active since 1989 and always followed their own artistic path, playing epic heavy metal during the 90s, a decade plagued by fashions, composing a very personal style of music and, last but not least, singing in Italian language.

Courage and coherence usually pay off: throughout the years ROSAE CRUCIS have been constantly improving their song writing. They gained a wide fan base, also thanks to their outstanding live performances. And kept the flame of Heavy Metal burning in Italy, a country usually pretty cold towards this style of music.

 

ROSAE CRUCIS FIRMANO PER CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC

I ROSAE CRUCIS hanno cominciato a lavorare ai brani del loro prossimo album che uscirà per Cruz del Sur Music.

Questo gruppo romano che porta il nome di un antico ordine esoterico è ben noto ai metallari italiani.

I ROSAE CRUCIS infatti sono attivi dal 1989 e hanno sempre seguito il loro percorso artistico, attraverso scelte anche difficili quali suonare heavy metal epico durante gli anni 90, un decennio piagato da mode mediocri e passeggere, comporre brani estremamente personali e fuori dai cliché  e, non ultimo, cantare in lingua italiana.

ll coraggio e la coerenza in genere pagano: durante gli anni i ROSAE CRUCIS hanno costantemente migliorato le loro composizioni. Hanno guadagnato un’ampia base di fan fedeli, anche grazie a tantissimi concerti di ottimo livello. E hanno mantenuto accesa la fiamma dell’Heavy Metal in Italia, un paese generalmente freddo verso questo genere di musica.

Siamo felici ed emozionati di poter contribuire a dare ai ROSAE CRUCIS la visibilità che meritano! A breve ulteriori dettagli…