Band:	Lunarsea
Album:	Route Code Selector
Style:	Melodic death metal
Release date:	October 04, 2008
A review by:	Darkside Momo

01. Magnitude 9.6
02. Metamorphine
03. In A Firmness Loop Day
04. The Apostate
05. Ashen
06. Five-Sided Platform Shape
07. Found Me Cryogenized
08. Infinite Process One
09. Suphur's Song, The Swan Died
10. Subspace Transition

Lunarsea are a not well known - for now - band from Italy, playing Gothenburg-style melodeath. And this Route Code Selector, released in 2008, is already their second album.

Yes, Gothenburg. The genre, as with metalcore and folk, is overflowing with releases, most of them quite crappy indeed. So, of course, the question is: How are Lunarsea compared to the rest of the flock? Well, basically, they don't add anything new to the well-known recipe: death metal grunts, clean-vocals choruses, harsh riffs and nice melodies, keyboards? You name it, it's there.
But they do it with talent. The songwriting is good, there was a real effort here to write varied songs. The riffs are aggressive as needed, and the melodies are, well, melodic (surprise, surprise) but not overly so, thanks goodness! Speaking of the riffs, some of them are a bit black metal influenced at times (like can be heard in "Ashen"). The keyboards, while not in the forefront, are pretty well integrated and do have an impact, with their kinda futuristic feel. It's probably not to everyone's tastes, but it adds a nice twist to the album. And finally, all the musicians are good and play well. Yes, even the clean vocals are OK (no mere feat!), even if they sometimes sound a bit awkward, somewhat out of place. The production? Nothing to say here, it's clean, precise and powerful.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the flaws. Well, this'll be thankfully short, as one could only find two problems: the fact that Lunarsea are not really original, as I said before, and also the fact that the album is a bit too long. 50 minutes might be OK, but for the music they play it really seems shorter albums are much more powerful.

So, compared to all the bands that try to make a name for themselves in the Gothenburg/metalcore scene, Lunarsea really deserve a listen, as they are better than most, even if they're not to the level of the masters of the genre. You like Dark Tranquillity, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry and stuff ? Give this Route Code Selector a try!


Highlights: "In a Firmness Loop Day" with its great intro (and crappy chorus) and "Suphur's Song, The Swan Died".