Category: LUNAR SHADOW

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.”

LUNAR SHADOW To Release Highly Anticipated Third Album, ‘Wish To Leave’, in March. Repressing of debut album “Far From Light” available in February.

Enrico

German metallers LUNAR SHADOW will release their third studio album, “Wish To Leave” on March 19 via Cruz Del Sur Music.

“Wish To Leave” marks a change in direction for LUNAR SHADOW — after two well-received albums of heavy metal-meets-Scandinavian black metal, founder, guitarist and songwriter Max Birbaum had other, more experimental things in mind, namely, taking the band into indie/post-punk territory:

“It certainly sounds different and I suppose many people won’t like it,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to the release; a little controversy in difficult times might just be what everyone needs right now.

“The guitars are taken back a little this time, the gain on our amps is lower, the bass is more prominent. No fast shredding, no wild riffing. But our pants are still tighter than they should be and our boots are pointy — it’s a good album to have a drink to and forget about your problems. Or make them worse… that depends.”

The follow-up to 2019’s “The Smokeless Fires” 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 is responsible for mastering. The artwork was created by renowned Russian artist Denis Forkas Kostromitin.

Birbaum previously announced plans to cease all LUNAR SHADOW live activities after their now-postponed appearance at the 2020 Party.San Open Air festival.

“Wish To Leave” track listing

  1. Serpents Die
  2. Delomelanicon
  3. I Will Lose You
  4. To Dusk And I Love You
  5. And Silenced Screamed
  6. The Darkness Between The Stars

At the same time, Lunar Shadow and Cruz Del Sur Music decided to repress the long-sold out debut full length of the band in February. “Far From Light” repressing will be available in BLACK VINYL, LMT 400 copies, INSERT & DOWNLOAD CODE.

Pre-order: https://tinyurl.com/y373lt6v – available on Feb 15, 2021.

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