With the grace and subtlety of a starved, rampaging horde of dark witches, Cleopatra Records, LUNA13 perpetrators of audio torment maintain their hot streak on “Wicked Gods’” which invigorates brutality with a glorious symptom of the bizarre. This blackened bass metal project would appear to have everything going against them, they are female-fronted and have created a new sound out of two genres that are worlds apart. LUNA13 flaunt a knack for songwriting that can disorient and surprise, with a headlong drive that rarely looks back, but chugs on from one infectious bass riff to another. Damn is LUNA13 heavy. I heard their songs on my phone and didn’t get a lot out of it but when I put the headphones on their music blew my mind. Songs retain layers of personality and can be recalled for not simply one key section, but many in an unceasing array. This gives “Wicked Gods” a more-than-usual replayability factor.
The death swagger in a song like “Serpent” is electrified with an unorthodox style of play that gives Wicked Gods a particular character that skews from anything conventional. Another great example is the spinal riff in “Leviathan,” which seems balanced on a wire, on the brink of falling off, before it sticks the landing and punches you in the gut. “Blood Bath” cannot go unmentioned; it’s a downward tumble into the grimy depths, excreting groove and momentum.
Taking the lumbering weight of the band Vader with an alien edge of bass music, LUNA13 infuses a heightened vitality into their craft that never strays too far from the dismal heaviness, but neither is it content to sit idle on what is expected. Lilith Bathory’s screeching vocals and Dr. Luna’s death bass production gives you something new to listen to. Although I don’t know if the elitist Metal fan is going to be buying bass music from LUNA13, they seem to be hitting Metal hard and collecting the eclectic blackened fan. We need some new stuff out there and LUNA13 is that for sure. I found myself wanting to listen to their songs over and over and Dark Funeral is my favorite band these days. Go figure.