Lunar – The Illusionist
Lunar – The Illusionist
Saibot Reign Records
Release Date: 03/03/2023
Running Time: 42:21
Review by Laura Barnes
9/10
If I had one word to describe this album, it would be this one: whirlwind.
Anyone who knows me can testify that I’m a big fan of anything progressive. Fusing trombone with blastbeats? Awesome. Covering ‘Enter Sandman’ with nothing but wine glasses? Count me in. Naturally, when I heard that Lunar were a ‘progressive metal/jazz’ band, my ears pricked up. I’m meeting Lunar three albums into their career, and I personally believe that Album Number 3 is the point where bands begin to solidify their sound, but does progressive music ever truly solidify? Isn’t prog’s very existence an act of protest against musical complacency?
In any case, Lunar are anything but complacent. “The Illusionist” is a firework of an album, bursting with colours and shapes and emotion. This album has a dreamlike and almost mythical quality that reminds me of Tool – if Maynard James Keenan was a slightly happier guy, that is. Lunar demonstrate their technical prowess with a twinkle in their eye, allowing skill and songwriting to share the stage in a theatrical dance.
The album begins with the six minute instrumental track, ‘Presitidigitation’. While I do think this track could have been trimmed down a little, it does a good job of setting the mood and hints at the fanfare soon to come, with down-the-rabbit-hole flutes and guitar licks that laugh in the face of traditional rhythm structures. If ‘Presitidigitation’ is the prologue, then ‘The Illusionist’ is chapter 1. 10 minutes long and infused with soulful guitar, there’s something Led Zeppelin-like going on here, something that makes you want to sink into a beanbag and let the music take over. And that jazz bar interlude? Absolutely phenomenal. ‘The Illusionist’ also sees the vocals come in for the first time, and Chandler Mogel sings with heart and confidence. He has a voice that kind of reminds me of Shinedown’s Brent Smith, but less produced, and it fits perfectly. ‘Worship The Sun’ goes for an Ancient Egypt vibe. In a lesser band, this could easily feel gimmicky, but Lunar actually manage to blend this theme into their playing. So far, so complex. ‘Turn Off The World’ then hits the brakes on this a little, with Lunar’s most accessible song yet. If you’re in this for the prog and prog alone, this one might be a little disappointing to you, but don’t fear – ‘Juggling Chainsaws’ is jam-packed with enough bonkers to keep you fired up. It’s about as frantic as the experience of juggling chainsaws would be, if you actually attempted it in real life. The instruments and vocals are constantly overlapping and grapping with eachother, competing with eachother in a righteous furore. Still, there’s a moment for catharsis: when the storm settles into a hazy sunset, Mogel makes a sobering realisation – I’m not ready to die yet / But I’m afraid to live.
While this may be true for Mogel’s magician narrator, it certainly isn’t true for Lunar themselves. “The Illusionist” is an album that is living. From its jazzy highs to its heavy metal lows, this album is constantly on its toes, never repeating itself and never, ever growing complacent. A wonderful whirlwind indeed.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Prestidigitation
02. The Illusionist
03. Showtime
04. Worship The Sun
05. Turn Off The World
06. Disassembled
07. Juggling Chainsaws
08. For My Next Trick
09. Now You See Me
LINE-UP:
Lead Vocals – Chandler Mogel
Guitars – Balmore Lemus
Drums and Percussion – Alex Bosson
Bass – Ryan Price
LINKS:
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