Lunar Tombfields - An Arrow to the Sun (2023)

Last year's The Eternal Harvest was a tasteful, atmospheric black metal debut out of France, and An Arrow to the Sun looks to continue that style as it shifts between its more measured, contemplative passages and then the surges into the more conventional blast patterns. The band also has a slightly interesting sense for melody, sure the tremolo picking styles are the same that you are used to in the genre, and a lot of the chords do end up in the direction that you predict, but once in awhile they'll spit out a guitar line with a more distinct progression. Lunar Tombfields does stick to its moniker in delivering very sorrowful material that is probably best experienced under some shade of moonlight, but I think this is the very definition of a 'mood record', because when I'm not quite in the headspace to absorb it, I did find myself occasionally phasing out in the longer tracks, which is all of them after the opener.

I think it's that structurally there are not a lot of surprises to be had...the duo performs all the instruments well, the vocals bear the burden of the dour and desperate emotions, and I actually love some of the tones on the guitars when they splay out the slower, spacious chords. The acoustics or cleaner distorted guitars are wonderful, and the rhythm section is tight-knit as needed, the band also balances off the coldness and warmth through some of the chord choices and that offers and air of romance to the music redolent of the debut. But often I found myself combing through the material for just one little surprise lick or tempo break, and they pop up a little too rarely in such swollen songs. I feel that some of them lose their luster after about 5-6 minutes, or they would have that much to hold my attention combined within them.

That said, this is still a decent follow-up to The Eternal Harvest, and from a production standpoint it sounds quite good, especially the glint of the guitars and the drumming. If you're just out to behold the sheer atmosphere of it, you could find far worse than An Arrow to the Sun to explore, but I just felt that there were only a limited number of payoff riffs nestled among the more predictable pieces. The closer "Le Chant Des Tombes" is probably the most balanced of the 8-9 minute tracks for me, but even that one had a moment or so of unneeded excess. Interestingly, the tracks are shorter than the debut but I still found myself more immersed in that one. Regardless, they've still got the wonderful artwork and a style that merits the patient, so if you enjoyed the last album this one isn't far off at all.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://lunartombfields.bandcamp.com/

Lunar Tombfields - The Eternal Harvest (2022)

The Eternal Harvest is a debut which throws you a curve ball up front: a beautiful, sparse ambient intro featuring ethereal female vocals straight and center, and not in the usual, pompous operatic manner, but much more folksy, honest and heartfelt. So the immediate question is how will the inevitable surge of black metal compare and contrast to this piece, and will they return to such calms throughout the course of this four track, 47 minute effort? The answer to the latter is simple, they do employ some lush, tranquil acoustic segments on some of the other tracks, but that vocal intro was singular. And as for the contrast, there is a level of beauty and melody to what this French duo creates, well balanced against these segues of lighter guitars, but the harsher and faster moments are quite gloomy, raw, spacious and washed-out.

This is a band that weaves a lot of melancholy into their riffing and vocal structures which sync up well to their moniker, the song titles, and the stunning Denis Forkas cover artwork, which is likely to remain one of my favorites of 2022. It's largely traditional black metal with the usual patterns of chords, battering blast beats and desperate, echoed rasping vocals, but the atmospheric aesthetics cultivate a lot of sorrow, desperation and mystique more so than any sinister Satanic vibe. The riffing is rather simplistic for the style, and often compelled by the drum fills, acoustic layers, swerving bass rhythms, and even a bit of spoken word woven alongside the rhythms of "A Dialogue with the Wounded Stars". While the note selections can often feel predictable or unchallenging, they are also stark and beautiful, and there is usually a melody or two buried in each of the lengthy tracks that offers a little more payoff. The drums have a very natural, organic impact to them, and it's all mixed rather fluidly so that the hints of the upper atmosphere flow seamlessly along to the rhythmic underbelly. And the sustained rasp vocals, which seem like an overloud whisper in spots, just add a leeching, suffering quality.

What captured me most throughout The Eternal Harvest is just how wistful, shadowy and drifting the experience can be, it hits that mood of longing and regret early on, and then lets it seep through you as if you were sitting in a chamber of dreary, golden haze, much like staring at its cover. Lunar Tombfields aren't long on originality perhaps, but they're exceptional at marrying restraint to effective, emotional moments that will let you stew in a sodden, dark nostalgia. Production is great, both of the music and the album packaging, and we've got yet another promising indulgence from a burgeoning French black metal scene which shows no end in sight to exploring and perhaps expanding the boundaries of that genre. This one isn't in your face with blissful, earworm melodies or blasting brutality, it's neither progressive nor particularly inventive, but it's subtlety and mood are its real strengths, lending the sort of timelessness that one will be able to value whenever one needs a whiff of sadness and sincere obscurity.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

https://lunartombfields.bandcamp.com/releases