Lunatica – “New Shores” (2009)

Label: Napalm Records

Review By Tony Cannella

Swiss symphonic metal band Lunatica have already released three very good albums. Their last one “The Edge of Infinity” (released in 2006) was arguably their best recorded work to date and their future looked very bright indeed. Now, 3-years later the band return with a new album (“New Shores”), a new label (Napalm Records) but the same desire to bring their brand of classy metal to the masses. The band is fronted by Andrea Dätwyler. She is joined by Marc Torretti (guitars), Sandro D’Incau (guitars), Emilio Barrantes (bass), Alex Seiberl (keys) and Ronnie Wolf (drums). With their previous three releases the band has shown an ability to progress from album to album and it is the listener who benefits from this. The lead off track “New Shores” is a testament to the growing maturity of the band. It is a strong way to start things and from there it only gets better. The next track “Two Dreamers” is among my favorites and would be a great choice as a single if the band opted to put one out. The chorus so so infectious and catchy and the vocals of Andrea Dätwyler are stronger than ever. The band has really risen to a whole new level. “How Did It Come to This?” is a moody, haunting ballad that is another song that really stands out with it’s haunting melody and fantastic vocal work once again by Andrea. “The Incredibles” with it’s socially conscience lyrics and “My Hardest Walk” keep things movie along smoothly and continues with the high quality material. “My Hardest Walk” in particular is one of the heavier tracks offered up here and it has a truly monstrous guitar riff in the beginning and it also features some cool tempo changes giving it a progressive feel, this is another absolute highlight. The next track really stands out, mainly because it features a duet with Andrea and Asia frontman John Payne. The two styles come together very well to create a memorable ballad with a big choir on the chorus. “The Chosen Ones” (another heavy one with a huge guitar riff) and “Heart of a Lion” are next and two more excellent tracks. “Into The Dissonance” is next and was written by legendary metal producer Sascha Paeth – who also incidentally mixed and mastered this CD. The final two tracks “Winds of Heaven” and “The Day the Falcon Dies” wrap things up nicely. The majority of the music was written by Alex Seiberl and most of the lyrics were written by Andrea and she obviously put a lot of thought into her words because the lyrics are really quite good actually. Lunatica continues to progress and mature from album to album and that trend continues on “New Shores”. It features some solid song writing and musicianship and is just an all around entertaining listen. This album should please their old fans, whilst gaining the band new ones. Quite simply on this – their fourth album – Lunatica have released their best work yet.

Rating – 80/100

Tracklist

1. New Shores
2. Two Dreamers
3. How Did It Come to This?
4. The Incredibles
5. My Hardest Walk
6. Farewell My Love (with John Payne)
7. The Chosen Ones
8. Heart of a Lion
9. Into the Dissonance
10. Winds of Heaven
11. The Day the Falcon Dies

Line Up

• Andrea Dätwyler – Vocals
• Sandro D’Incau – Guitars
• Marc Torretti – Guitars
• Alex Seiberl – Keyboards
• Emilio MG Barrantes – Bass
• Ronny Wolf – Drums

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