The phrase “a breath of fresh air” is often overused these days, but with Luna Sol no other description could be truer. Something of a super-group, (containing members of: Supafuzz, The Feds, The Swanks & The Swindlers), Luna Sol supply an album of constant stoner rock grooves as well as heavy plodding guitar riffs throughout the album.
With its consistent tempo changes, ‘Blood Moon’ is layered with male and female vocal harmonies and some incredible musicianship. The album takes the listener on a journey into the wild and rocky mountain landscape that the concept was spawned from. Inspired by local news stories and folklore, frontman and guitar player David Angstrom has taken the traditional stoner / mountain rock set up and rearranged it slightly including the occasional psychedelic sounding guitars and even introduced the use of a banjo on the track ‘Leadville’
With an impressive string of guest musicians featuring on the album from bands such as Kyuss, Supafuzz, Hermano, Kentucky Headhunters and even Guns N Roses, each track on the album has something to offer. One of the stand out songs sits right in the middle of the album. Entitled ‘Pretty Rotten’, it features some of the aforementioned psychedelic guitars as well as some spine-tingling vocal ranges, and to top it all off the bass guitar is supplied by Nick Oliveri
The final song on the album, ‘In The Shadows’, somewhat strays even further from the rest, if not just for it’s main guitar riff that sounds rather like the theme tune to the TV sitcom ‘The IT Crowd’, then for it’s stripped down sound. Limited to guitars and vocals before crashing back in for a classic rock crescendo reminiscent to the sounds of Alice In Chains, it’s the perfect closer for the album that has only gone from strength to strength.
At a total run time of approximately 40 minutes, Luna Sol have really set the bar high with their debut release and proved they’re ready to run with the wolves. Their sound is a perfect mix of everything that’s great about bands such as Queens Of The Stone Age, Clutch and Royal Blood with a healthy dose of Black Sabbath thrown in for good measure. Incorporating haunting voices, powerful vocal ranges, catchy hooks and stomping riffs whist all the time maintaining a dark atmosphere, Luna Sol and the album ‘Blood Moon’ are well worth getting excited about.
JAMES DAVENPORT