Black Pullet

This is the 4th recording from Lunar Reign, an interesting band that got its start in 1998 in Florida. I heard them back in the MP3.com days, before I ever heard of myspace. I liked what I heard back then, and since that time the band has progressed nicely in songwriting and quality. This is the second release by LR which incorporates a drum machine, the 2001 demo on Forgotten Wisdom Prod. being the 1st recording with a machine.

Firstly, 3 of the songs on this EP are re-done versions of the originals, as the first track "Without My Weapons" reveals. Personally, I enjoy hearing redone songs (unless its Dimmu Borgir), and in this case LR recorded them seemingly with a different perspective, and have achieved an impressive result.

A quick intro with really deep war drums gets us underway, and from that point on it is hard to peel your ears away once the metal hits them. The songs on this EP contain elements of both modern and oldschool BM, even breaking into semi-experimental parts at times, making for an interesting listen. The song structures vary from song to song, and its hard to predict where they are going next.

This is not a cd where you'll be pushing the "next track" button looking for good material, as nearly every riff sounds very well thought-out and catchy. I found myself whistling some of the riffs later on. There is one part with clean vocals during "transposition", sounding a bit like Garm of Ulver fame. Well done, and I think maybe they should do this more often.
"Transposition" was probably my favorite track, since it seemed to contain the most experimental parts, similiar to Ved Buens Ende, a thing I tend to look for in BM.
"The Karcist" has a very eerie part in it that is pretty killer. LR seems to like to write alot of eerie and discordant riffs, my favorite type of riffs I must admit. I think LR sounds more like European BM than USBM, and fittingly, because from what I understand, most of their popularity resides in Europe. (the 2001 demo is on a french label)

I like every track on this EP, although my preferred tracks are "Transposition", "Black Pullet", and "Ring of Gyges". Its hard to say what band is similiar to LR, since they incorporate the influences of so many different bands. There were parts that remind of Emperor, of Ved Buens Ende, parts like Immortal, parts like Limbonic Art, Gehenna and Abigor.
The only possible issue I could have with this EP is that the songs sound like they are from different recording sessions, but I guess to some that may be a bonus.

In short, this EP stands out amidst other USBM releases I have heard, both by way of songwriting and memorable riffs, and I look forward to hearing their newest cd on Beneath the Fog productions. Hails!!