Ivory Moon – Lunar Gateway

Ivory Moon
Lunar Gateway
Volcano Records
October 2, 2020
51:03

We love metal and music is our life.

This is how Ivory Moon introduce themselves in their short biography. The band was founded in Rome in 2000. So far, three albums have been released. The last one for the time being was published in 2012. Now eight years and various line-up changes later, the Italians are obviously trying to start over. Ivory Moon are now under contract with the Turin-based label Volcano Records & Promotion.

“Human Greed” starts with a church organ, followed by bombastic choruses. One wonders, are we dealing with one of the typical Italian cinematic metal combos that try in vain to emulate Rhapsody / Rhapsody of Fire? Fortunately, after about 45 minutes, the fun ends. Ivory Moon rock a little more than their famous compatriots. Only with the outstanding clear vocals are memories of the forefathers of this genre awake. A lively rock / metal song. The guitar section shows its ability for the first time in the solos. Singer Loretta Venditti shines in the highest tones. And she is able to sing them extremely cleanly. Definitely a plus. But she also masters the middle pitches, which she impressively proves on “Here We Are”. Singing partner Patrizio Izzo leaves the high range rather rare. As is typical for Italy, the keyboards lead the melody over large parts, but without sounding too intrusive. A highlight of the album is definitely the ballad “Man With A Face”. The singing duo harmonize perfectly with each other. Acoustic guitars and strings mostly accompany the vocals. And the obligatory but short guitar solo also adapts to the ballad-like character of the song. With “Darkside – The Angel of the Night” a typical symphonic metal hymn follows. And because ballads are so beautiful, “Breath” is another one. This time the singers will be accompanied by an electric piano. With the poppy “Blood Vampire” the Italians go a much faster pace. However, under the song title “Lochness – The Legend Of The Lake” I would not have suspected the third ballad. Somewhat rougher tones would have been a better choice here, matching the landscape around the legendary lake in Scotland. The bouncer “The Game Of Life” then has slightly progressive traits thanks to his melody and tempo changes.

With “Lunar Gateway” Ivory Moon released a solid comeback album. After a good start, it flattens out a bit in the second part. Only one or two songs can then stand out in terms of quality. Certainly, the symphonic metal genre has been overused in recent years. Nevertheless, a band with the goodness of Ivory Moon should put a little more emphasis. There is still a lot of room for improvement.

Ivory Moon – The Dominion Saga: https://youtu.be/rpwLry05mx4

Lineup:

Loretta Venditti – Vocales
Patrizio Izzo – Vocales
Fabrizio Sclano – Bass
Andrea Campisano – Lead Guitar
Fabrizio Zucchini – Rhythm Guitar
Fabio Bonuglia – Keyboard
Emiliano Cantiano – Drums

Track list:

• Human Greed
• Here We Are
• Man With A Face
• Darkside-The Angel of the Night
• Astaroth
• Breath
• Blood Vampire
• Lochness – The Legend Of The Lake
• The Dominion Saga
• The Game Of Life