Lunatic Soul - The World Under Unsun - review
Lunatic Soul - The World Under Unsun - review
Tracklist
Disc I01. The World Under Unsun
02. Loop Of Fate
03. Good Memories Don’t Want To Die
04. Monsters
05. The Prophecy
06. Mind Obscured, Heart Eclipsed
07. Torn In Two
Disc II
01. Hands Made Of Lead
02. Ardour
03. Game Called Life
04. Confession
05. Parallels
06. Self In Distorted Glass
07. The New End
A review by
AndyMetalFreak November 11, 2025
Mariusz Duda formed Lunatic Soul back in 2008 as an alternative outlet to Riverside, in which he is vocalist, bassist, and main songwriter, although he states that he prefers Lunatic Soul to not be considered a spin-off, but rather a distinct project with its own originality and identity. With self-proclaimed influences including the likes of Peter Gabriel, Mike Oldfield, Depeche Mode, Dead Can Dance, and Clannad, the project offers experimental progressive rock that explores other genres outside of rock, such as ambient, oriental, electronic, and folk, all of which can be heard at some point during latest offering The World Under Unsun. Whilst Duda generally plays each instrument himself, several guest musicians have collaborated across Lunatic Soul's discography.
The World Under Unsun is the project's eighth album, and marks the final chapter in a coherent story titled The Circle of Life and Death, which spans across the band's discography. The theme behind the story is based on a solitary traveller who journeys between life and death, and The World Under Unsun bridges the gap between the third album, Impressions, and the fourth, Walking on a Flashlight Beam. The World Under Unsun explores a world deprived of light, or better still, a world that lies on the brink of diminishing light, in which one can self-reflect in solace and tranquillity without worldly distraction.
This is a structurally diverse two-part album that clocks in at almost 90 minutes, lying somewhere between progressive and atmospheric rock. There's 14 structurally varied songs, each flowing from one into the next while delivering their own diverse and immersive soundscapes. They gently and progressively weave their way through patient mid-paced build-ups with an abundance of lightly progressive and dark ambient sections, contrasted with livelier and more upbeat rock sections featuring an array of instruments. It's a calm and emotional journey that rewards investing time and effort to fully absorb what it has to offer, although due to its extraordinary length some listeners might not achieve this.
Duda is highly renowned for his multi-instrumental prowess, and here he goes the extra mile, unleashing every instrument at his disposal from piano, keyboards, and saxophone, to acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass and percussion, while also delivering another emotionally charged vocal performance. He pulls off one of his most elaborate musicianship performances to date; however, I don't believe this is his best effort songwriting-wise. I feel the extensive runtime isn't fully justified, and that's the main issue for concern for me here.
There's several occurrences where I believe a more upbeat section wouldn't have gone amiss, or even just a touch more variation, especially during the ambient sections, which are too drawn out in parts. I understand the intended direction; it's a calming, atmospheric and emotional journey your soul must have to endure, rather than a display of complexity and progressive brilliance that takes more so after Riverside. On the upside, the peaceful nature of the music, combined with his signature vocals, can make for pleasant background music; it is likely not the album's intention to be considered in this way, but it's not necessarily a bad thing for music to fulfil this role. Still, if you dig down into the album, there are some fine moments that only reveal themselves when given your full attention, if you can offer it to the record.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written on 11.11.2025 by
Written on 11.11.2025 by
An honest review that you don't necessarily have to agree with. Comments
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Posts: 6654 Written by MadHatter on 11.11.2025 at 22:30 Thanks, no problem  I definitely recommend you check this album out at some point, it's a good listen despite the extraordinary length. It's probably better to listen to the previous albums before this one though to get a better understanding of what it's all about, but it's definitely worth a listen regardless, the atmosphere is unlike anything you'll likely hear in progressive rock this year I'd say.
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Posts: 6212 Written by MadHatter on 11.11.2025 at 22:30 How does the quality of this album in any way influence the quality of other albums?
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