Band:	Lunar Aurora
Album:	Andacht
Style:	Black metal
Release date:	January 08, 2007
Guest review by:	AndyMetalFreak

01. Glück
02. Geisterschiff
03. Dunkler Mann
04. Findling
05. Der Pakt
06. Das Ende

The album Andacht is a hidden gem, and should not go unnoticed by those interested in the atmospheric black metal scene.

Much like all metal genres, black metal has gone through changes into several directions since when it began. Multiple subgenres have emerged from the black metal scene, such as avant-garde, symphonic, melodic and atmospheric. I personally find atmospheric black metal to be one of the most interesting subgenres, because there are always exciting new bands emerging on the scene, waiting to be discovered. Within this genre, there are bands most people will be familiar with; Drudkh, Summoning, Wolves In The Throne Room, and Negură Bunget, to name a few. Lunar Aurora were also a band from this scene, and although not as well known as the bands I mentioned, I believe the band made a significant impact on the subgenre.

Andacht is certainly a standout album among what I would consider quite an underwhelming discography from Lunar Aurora. Unlike their previous album, Elixir Of Sorrow, Andacht is far better produced, contains fewer songs, each song being much better structured, and the songwriting has certainly improved and so also the atmospherics. I personally think, if the poor production hadn't let their final album Hoagascht down, then Hoagascht had the potential to be near the same quality as Andacht. I think it's fair to say they were never going to top the quality of Andacht.

At the beginning of each song there is a different atmospheric sound, like the Gregorian monk chant at the beginning of the song "Glück", and what sounds like a boat gently crashing into waves on the song "Findling", these intros throw you straight into the atmosphere, and from their draw you into a journey, and "Das Ende" is an epic finisher for the album.

The songs make the use of heavily distorted guitars, giving the album a rougher sound, and the guitar riffs are kept relatively simple, while maintaining the typical blast beat drumming, keeping the music much in the style of typical black metal. The production has a raw sound to it, giving it a dark, and slightly disturbing atmosphere, but although the production is raw sounding, it's not overdone so the instruments and vocals can sound more crisp and clear than previous albums,

The main theme is a concept around the subjects of life and death, and of the mind and soul, and the mood of which is gloom, pain and torment. "Whyrhd" had stated the lyrics are typically in the German language, and that they preferred to use their mother tongue rather than English. The vocals are typically harsh, primarily with screaming, to show the emotions of distress and despair.

This is for me the best album by Lunar Aurora, but that is not to say the rest of their discography isn't worth checking out.