Warthur I don't know why the Moon is mad at me on the cover of Lunar Aurora's Mond, but the strange atmosphere of esoteric, oblique rage running through the album (as epitomised in Schwarze Winde, the incredible central pillar of the piece) creates a black metal labyrinth which finds Lunar Aurora digging into the primal fury of the genre's foundational works and updating it to their own atmospheric style. (That said, if you are keen on the more symphonic aspects of Lunar Aurora's sound they do dial it back somewhat here, though the middle songs retain a certain amount of that sort of thing.)

Warthur Whyrhd had sat out the previous Lunar Aurora album, Andacht, and with the subsequent dissolution of the group it seemed like it was all over for the experimental black metal outfit. That makes this release from the reunited Whyrhd and Aran a welcome return. Although the duo had been the core of Lunar Aurora for most of the band's existence, they'd never been reduced to a two-piece unit, but as it transpires Aran's growth as a multi-instrumentalist has hit the point where he can more than pull it off, leaving Whyrhd to provide his wild, bestial vocals to finish off the formula.

Warthur Andacht by Lunar Aurora is a startling breakthrough in applying experimental art rock sensibilities to black metal in a manner that sets the group apart from those black metal groups dabbling in symphonic or shoegaze elements. The end result is ambient black metal with a depressing, sombre atmosphere (matching the bleak lyrical content) and high-quality production. Surprisingly, the drums are actually programmed, though I wouldn't have guessed it just to listen to them. As it turns out, this would be Sindar's final album with the group, so this album is a more than acceptable conclusion to this era of the band.

Wilytank After Lunar Aurora brought about 'Elixir of Sorrow', they really began to detach themselves from the symphonic black metal scene and began their second era of the second era of the band's history featuring a more depressive type of atmospheric black metal. 'Zyklus' first showed off the band's completed metamorphosis since 'Elixir of Sorrow' still retained some symphonic parts but still showed signs of the style change. 'Mond' refined what 'Zyklus' brought about; and finally, there came 'Andacht', the best of this era but for better or worse also the end of this era.

I must say, this is Lunar Aurora's most depressive album yet. The sorrowful tone first brought about in 'Elixir of Sorrow' is brought to its peak in 'Andacht'. Among the different types of setting the atmosphere evokes is "Glück", with the church-like atmosphere brought about by the choir; and "Geisterschif", which goes right along with its translated title "Ghostship" in that it makes me feel like I'm sailing away from the shores of some place on a wooden ship during a foggy day and a storm closing in. The atmosphere is brought about by the guitar work, something Lunar Aurora have become quite skilled at doing. In particular, the lead guitar in 'Andacht' is very prominent and very impressive. While there is noticeable use of the keyboards on this album, the lead guitar often overrides them. The keys are at their strongest on the final two tracks "Der Pakt" and "Das Ende", though one of the "atmospheric" elements on the latter song sounds like someone inflating a balloon.

The drums are programmed by Sindar, Aran's younger brother. With the rest of the production rather clear sounding, the drums also sound pretty good; but their presence is a little overbearing at times such as the final refrain of "Glück" where i feel that they might have been overproduced. The vocals are handled by Aran, Sindar, and Whyrhd; but good luck trying to tell who says what since three different voices are heard in the songs. The only one i could recognize was Whyrhd from his work in the 'Hoagascht' album; he has the lowest voice. But otherwise, kudos to him and whoever did the majority of the higher screeching on the songs as well as whoever did clean vocals on "Glück".

Though there are a few small flaws, 'Andacht' is enjoyable enough for me to put it in the top tier category of my review filing system. However, it would be the end of this era for Lunar Aurora; and after they reformed, Sindar would not join them. Let 'Andacht' stand as one of the band's greatest efforts to date as well as the most ideal way to make this era go out with a bang.

Wilytank By the time I've caught on to Lunar Aurora, they've already split up and reformed; but I've found what I've listened to already so interesting that I was looking forward to their latest output 'Hoagascht'. The band has downsized, only maintaining Aran on instruments and Whyrhd on vocals. Regardless, these two veterans march on and make a very strong atmospheric black metal album.

See the art? The owl, the tree, and the moon? These things fit the atmosphere very well. Throughout the entire album, I think of an owl flying through the forest under a full moon and a star filled sky. Compared to their previous entry, 'Andacht', the atmosphere on 'Hoagascht' is much more consistent. One thing that boosts this is the much bigger role the keyboards play in this album compared to 'Andacht', provided that 'Andacht' didn't need the keys as much since the lead guitar on that album was used as a very prominent instrument. That attribute isn't present in 'Hoagascht'; the guitars are still layered, but there's no outstanding lead guitar. The keys here never make the music approach the boundaries of bombast though, and the guitars are the main instruments that carry the songs' melodies and tone; and the drums, while programmed, sound natural (especially when compared to the drums on 'Mond' and 'Andacht') and go with the album well.

Though much of the music is played mid-paced, such as "Im Gartn" and "Geisterwoid", there are faster pieces like "Håbergoaß" and the ending of "Nachtuele". There's also the slower epic, emotional sounding "Sterna" which is probably my biggest favorite from the album. The only track I really have a problem with is "Wedaleichtn", which starts out fine but then cuts to a prolonged sample passage that feels like it takes up a third of the song or more; so we've got a little time waste, but it's just a little impurity in an otherwise really clear glass of water.

This album just falls short of a top tier ranking. It's not as great as 'Elixer of Sorrow' or 'Andacht'; but I definitely like it more than 'Mond', which was a good album itself. 'Hoagasht' was a shift in the band's style though, and may bring a third era of the band as far as music goes. If so, I'm eager to see what all Lunar Aurora can do with it.