MOON OF SOUL

The band decided to follow up the release of Titokszülő with an prolonged tour where they supported acts such as Evergrey and Opeth. But this turned out to be a bittersweet affair since Moon Of Soul also went through a few lineup changes in the process. The long time drummer Pongó Tamás left the band which led to a temporary hiatus in their work. Eventually Moon Of Soul reformed with with a new drummer Balogh József Ádám and an additional guitatist Marozsán János.

Luckily all the changes have only boosted the band's confidences and gave them a clear understanding of their musical direction. Ébredés features sounds and styles that would be considered out of place on any of the pervious Moon Of Soul releases, which were much more based around traditional Death Metal. Calling this release a Death Metal album would be wrong since the music almost crosses over to the realm of Experimental/Post Metal on quite a few occasions. It really a pity that Ébredés is such a short release, clocking a few minutes under the 40 minute mark, but that could just be the reason why it leaves me coming back for more!

If you haven't heard of Moon Of Soul, which I'm sure that few of you have, then this is easily the best starting point of the journey. Download this album for free from the band's official website and enjoy some of the best music that you otherwise might have completely overlooked!

***** star songs: Ébredés (5:41) Ezüstszál (3:50)

**** star songs: Intro (1:20) Odaát-Odafönt (5:34) Viharmélység (4:37) Éghatár (5:55) Hang-Alkony-Menedék (7:55) Nincs Más (2:18)

It's a bit unfortunate that I joined the 'band'wagon (in its literal sense) so late in the game since Moon Of Soul decided to quit while they were ahead and called it a day right after releasing their third full length studio album in 2007. Fortunately, the band was generous enough to publish all of their music on their website and thus giving us, the unaware metal fans, a chance to catch up with some of the most enjoyable non-English speaking progressive rock music!

Titokszülő was the band's second full length release, released in 2003, while still in their original formation. It will be a long four year wait between the second and third albums where Moon Of Soul would completely re-invent themselves by introducing new blood to the collective and enhancing their sound even further from the Death Metal style that they played in the early days. Titokszülő gives us a glimpse of a band in development, but this development was leading towards something quite new and original, thus not just been done to rehash the band's sound to fit in with the scene around them. The music here can be equally melodic and meditative as it can be brutally metallic but this is done very professionally and the transitions between the different sections can easily be compared to those of the mighty Opeth. Saying that Moon Of Soul is just a clone of Opeth would be highly unfair. Moon Of Soul doesn't use acoustic instruments, has a Hungarian speaking vocalist and the overall sound of the heavier sections is closer to pure Death Metal, while Opeth are generally considered to be a melodic Death Metal band.

There is really no need to make this review any longer or do a track-by-track walkthough since the investment that you'll have to undergo in order to hear this album is only that of your time. Go ahead and give Moon Of Soul a chance, they definitely deserve it!

***** star songs: Ezüstcsend (6:54)

**** star songs: Rám Köszönt (5:09) Láthatatlan Azonosság (4:15) Ezernyi Hulló Univerzum (5:58) Titokszülő (5:21) Lebegés-Mindenség (7:00) Elmenekült Távolság (3:34) Ének-Lélegzet-Csend (7:01)