Reviewer: Jesse

Moonshine - Eternal

April 20, 2009

I’d say that I’m surprised, but I’m just not anymore.  Not that switching from melodic black metal to goth rock is that unheard of, but when the band was so good at what they did in the first place and had no meaningful lineup changes, I can’t help but scratch my head.  Moonshine’s two previous albums were an excellent and very inspired take on aggressive, melodic black metal that showed tons of promise and dedication.  Naturally, not the most original stuff, but catchy and focused and had you spinning it over and over.

What I am surprised at is how well they made the transition to their new style.  Again, not the most original stuff, but the songs are so well-composed that you’d think they had been playing this their entire career… and you’d think they were English to boot.  Eternal is Moonshine doing their best Paradise Lost impression and they do it rather convincingly.  Lots of piano, (although I must point out that Moonshine have always had an abundance of piano in their material) sullen, melancholic vocals and a multitude of mild, yet highly memorable guitar leads.  Even the extremely recognizable 80s British pop aura has managed to sneak its way into a few of the songs.  It’s almost eerie.

There are however, two exceptions on this album.  The songs “(We) Die Cold” and “Isolated.”  The former has a guest female vocalist throughout the song and is very good if you ask me.  Contrary to several of the Korean female singers I’ve heard, she sounds very “western” if you will.  She makes another short appearance in the closer, “No Name.”  I love this woman’s voice.  It’s nothing pretentious or dramatic.  She sings in key and with strength and it really adds a lot when she’s around.  I do think it was a good idea to have her contribute sparsely though. 

To say that “Isolated” is the contrast track would be a massive understatement.  This is an aggressive, melodic black metal song chock full of blast beats and snarled vocals.  Still a touch off from their previous work, but worlds apart from the rest of the album.  It’s almost as if the guys are winking at you when listening to this song and saying, “yeah, we know what we’re doing.”

The closing instrumental song is quite brilliant, but possibly only those of us who are very familiar with their previous work will get it and I’m still not sure if I grasp it.  It’s sort of a medley of several melodies from past songs, but woven together in a way that makes a single, coherent song.  Each time I listen to it, I hear something different from a song that I had forgotten about.  What I can’t quite understand is why they named it “Regret” as if it’s a way of saying goodbye to their past style or if there’s a different meaning and I’m looking into it from the completely wrong angle.

Overall, I’m impressed yet again with this band.  Just when I was about to file them along with countless others trying to become more accessible and compromising everything they do well, I hear a band who still has a ton of conviction and energy.  They just decided to switch that energy to a slightly different level and committed all they had to making it as rewarding for themselves as they hope they would to their fans.  There really is no incentive for a Korean metal band to become more “mainstream” or “sell out” because such a thing is impossible to do, so I have no doubt that they really care about their current direction and you know what, good for them.

Release Date: June 3rd, 2008
Label: Dope Entertainment

TRACK LISTING

1. Moonshine Madness
2. (We) Die Cold
3. True Heart
4. Isolated
5. Dark Reception
6. Chaos Lover
7. Dying In Beauty
8. Breathless
9. No Name
10. Regret (Instrumental)

Total playing time: 51:29

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