Moonlight

Kalpa Taru. Released in 1996, Moonlight's debut album is comprised of fifteen tracks with varying styles but centred on symphonic somewhat metal-edged rock tunes sung entirely, like the rest of the band's catalog, in the Polish language. One can not help but get enthused about the band's sound from first listen of the opening almost spoken rocker "Strach." The artist's metal-edged roots come through in rhythmic guitar riffs but the melodic keys and sweet vocals break what could otherwise be called a heavy pattern. The band slow down in "Stadium Wiary," a melodic anthem with vocal layers being echoed by keyboard excursions. Brief spoken vocal parts in the bridge are enjoyable.

Andrewzej Kutys' guitar playing is featured in "Cisza Przed Burzq," a symphonically arranged, yet accessible, ballad, with many layers of sweetly sung vocals. It blends almost seamlessly into the gothically arranged "Extaza Milczenia" where the entire range of Maja's vocals are explored. We especially enjoyed the lush orchestral style arrangements in the stunning "Conquistador," the guitar solo during the bridge and the soaring vocalisations at the end of the piece.

The symphonic texture gives way to a harder edge in "Modlituso o Imitawanie," which continues to explore Maja's vocal range; the harmony layers work well in the more thickly arranged portions of the song which contrast the everso gentle verses. "Hexe" begins as a lighter jazz-oriented track but quickly builds to illustrate the full on metal energy with vast guitar excursions during the bridge. The contrasting backing vocal harmony is especially enjoyable.

Arrangements in the progressive rocker "Ananke" effectively balance orchestral keyboards with rhythmic guitar patterns. Vocal harmonies produce a rich texture with thick metal sounds during the robust chorus contrasting Maja's lead during the ballad-like verses. Devoid of any metal influences, the brief orchestral "Zmierzch" is one of the album's standout tracks and one that blends perfectly with the ballad-like verses of the otherwise fast-paced and delightful rocker "Damaisa." Maja's soaring lead vocal is tremendous.

"Msza" is a relatively hard piece that actually blends the softest of ballad-like arrangements with full-on instrumentals sounds, layers of harmony vocals and soaring vocal excursions that continue almost seamlessly into "Deformis," another one of the band's heavy metal pieces. The track "Zbrodnia I Kara" is a fast paced rocker with almost spoken vocals whilst "Belibaste" is a lovely, orchestrally light and gentle ballad-like number clearly showcasing the range and depth of Maja's vocal talent. This first album from Moonlight will attract new listeners but refined arrangements and a further development of the band's sound is evident in their next release.

Meren Re (MMP CD 0049) Image © 1997 Metal Mind Records

Meren Re. The second album by Moonlight is a thirteen track collection of stylistically varied symphonic progressive rock tracks. Some of the band's initial metal edges are subdued but the artists haven't completely let them go. The album opens with the fast paced symphonically arranged rocker "La Dance Macabre," which like other tracks on the album has some heavy metal riffs. Lush instrumentals support Maja's vocal lines which, as before are sometimes multi-tracked. "Melpomena" is one of the album's standout tracks; accessible with its rhythmic percussion, the string sounds perfectly compliment the full-on instrumentals and lead vocal lines.

The album drives on with the power of "Dies Irae (Dzien Sadu)." One can not help but notice the rich symphonic gothic textures used within the arrangements. The fast-paced romping rocker "Gora I Dol" has softer metal edges that blend well with swirling harmony layers of Maja's vocals. The quieter moments during the bridge allow th vocals and keyboards to emerge above the guitar riffs. The incredible tempo transitions, sweeping keyboard passages and lovely vocal lead within "Troche Pozniejsze Popoludnie" further illustrate the band's strengths. The contrasting and thickly arranged rocking segments are especially enjoyable. "To Co Za Drzwiami" follows on naturally extending the epic, picking up right where the preceding track has left off.

Similarly, the pair "Cha-Nefer-Meren-Re" and title track "Meren Re," work quite well together. They begin gently, drawing on gothic influences before opening into full-on instrumental power and a rapidfire rocking energy. "Meren Re" opens quietly but with a renewed emphasis on percussion. The pulse quickens as the epic develops with whispy vocal layers underscored by the band's symphonic instrumental power and classically influenced electric piano. A vocalise segment in the bridge is especially enjoyable.

The band's rocking energy in "Glosy" and progressive stylings in "Shahre Gholgtha (Miasto Krzyku)" are perfectly balanced with Maja's stunning vocal work. The former is slightly less accessible than the latter; soaring vocal excursions leading into the chorus and guitar solos during the bridges are tremendous. "Wiem" is a certain standout of this album, perfectly balancing the band's instrumental energy with Maja's lead and supporting harmonies. "Tu" is instrumentally more sparce and vocally lush while "Inter Sacrum," which concludes the album, is a symphonically styled progressive number and is one of its standouts. Our CD has a fourteenth bonus track, a radio edit of "Shahre Gholgtha." An album of lovely stylistic complexity, is certainly a wonderful development for the band. Our review of their latest album follows the interview.

The Interview

Floe. Our compact disc is the limited edition that includes three bonus tracks and a video. The bonus tracks are "List Z Raju," "Tantec Ze Smiercia" and "Meren Re (Dobranoc)." The videoclip is of "List Z Raju." The compact disc is comprised of these four plus the nine tracks included on the standard edition.

We are informed that the band's style changed in the two albums that were made after Meren Re but that the style reverted for Floe; the album certainly picks up right where Meren Re leaves off. The opening number "Tabu" is a richly symphonic but equally metal-edged rocker. Gothic overtones also shine through the layers of Maja's vocals. We especially enjoyed Maja's vocal clarity in the ballad-style track "Lekarstwo Na Sen." Led by the melodies of rich electric guitar, Maja's vocals shine in the melodic ballad and album standout "List Z Raju."

The heavy rocker "Taniec Ze Smiercia" alternates between an almost-spoken vocal line and some tremendous guitar playing. A gentler keyboard instrumental supporting the verse provides a lovely contrast to the ripping instrumentals of the chorus. An everso emotionally sung "Meren Re (Akt Ostatni)" is sung over a very light instrumental whilst the track "Meren Re (Dobranoc)" that follows features a lusher and somewhat more orchestral arrangement with a substantially denser rhythm section supporting the album's standout ballad.

The seventh track on the album is un-named on our compact disc; on the band's website it is listed merely as "...". It's a warmly arranged gothic instrumental, rich with percussion and vast excursions of Maja's (middle-eastern sounding) vocalise. The thickly arranged lush progressive metal rocker "Obsesja" follows quite naturally. Layers of vocals blend wonderfully with metal sounds and the gothic / middle-eastern style instrumental arrangement. The transformation continues with "Shadizar"; again lush gothic style arrangements dominate the instrumental foundation of this signature ballad. Maja's evocative lead vocal is substantially sung without harmony layers.

"Kiedy Mysel Mi Oddasz" is certainly one of the album's standouts. Sung evocatively as a ballad with symphonic keyboard-based arrangements, it shares the gothic texture that develops as this album plays from the middle towards its end. Just to make sure that the listener doesn't forget Moonlight's background, "Kochanka" picks up the pace mixing heavy metal with gothic overtones. It's a unique style--and it works well. The album's final piece, "Nic W Zyciu Nie Dzarza Sie Przypadkowo" is actually a "hidden" track and is a gentle lullaby sung without instrumental support.