LUNASENSE

This is not a Black Sabbath album, but looks like a lot!

Lunasense is the second album by bulgarian progressive metal band Pantommind from Gabrovo. These my compatriots show really big potential with this release. Lunasense is one very well produced album in classic progressive metal manner. This adorable album is full of surprises and tempo changes. It is without analogue in Bulgaria. One of the main thoughts I want to share is the fact, that this album looks like quite much so. Especially, Tony Martin fronted line-up of Black Sabbath. The voice of the vocalist is much similar to Tony Martin's. Pantommind sites Black Sabbath as main influence and you can feel that in most of the songs.

Of course, this means the album contains strong heavy metal taste, too! The musicianship is excellent and the songwriting is strongly above average. I am sure this album can please most of the metal fans (I mean heavy, progressive, power metal fans) and of course, highly recommended for Black Sabbath fans . It probably can please fans of eclectic, symphonic and heavy prog subgenres of progressive rock. The best song on Sunasense is My Home (Into Infinity) . It is real masterpiece of progressive metal music with an appropriate folky motif. The other very good songs are Transmission part I and II , Sandglass and Letter to No One . All other songs are good, without any weak. This album is suitable for frequent use. Probably, the best bulgarian album here on PA! 3.75 stars

PANTOMMIND are back ! It's been four years since their masterpiece "Shade Of Fate" was released, this their second album is titled "Lunasense". Cool cover art by the way.

"Transmission Part I" is the opening instrumental. Orchestral sounding keys to start before the heaviness kicks in.The guitar takes the lead before a minute. After 2 minutes a female says "Transmission complete" then it kicks in harder. "Erasable Tears" kicks in fairly quickly. The guitar is lighting it up big time. Vocals before a minute are welcomed. He seems to sing in a higher range than on the first album. It settles before 2 minutes with spoken words. It kicks back in with ripping guitar. Vocals return. "Wolf" is a top three for me. It opens with church bells as the wind blows. Riffs follow then keyboards join in. Vocals after a minute. Great sound. Some crunch to this one. Blistering guitar before 3 1/2 minutes. What a vocal performance though. "Sandglass" is another top three. Gentle guitar to open. Restrained vocals join in. It kicks in at 1 1/2 minutes. How catchy is this ! Contrasts continue. "Letter To No One" kicks in quickly with vocals. It settles before 2 minutes and keyboards join in. Nice guitar solo a minute later. It's fairly powerful the rest of the way. "To The Days Of Old" opens with keyboards before we get some heaviness with synths. It settles with vocals. It kicks back in as contrasts continue. Excellent tune. It's heavy with synths to end it.

"Blank" opens with deep bass sounds as the guitar comes in. It's heavy before a minute then the tempo picks up. Vocals follow. I like this one a lot. "Transmission Part II" is also an instrumental like the opening track. Piano to start as synths join in. That's what we get throughout. "My Home (Into Infinity)" opens with synths as the heaviness joins in. Vocals follow as the tempo continues to shift. Tasteful guitar 3 minutes in that goes on and on. "I'll Never Be The Same" is my final top three. This really reminds me of FATES WARNING early. Lots of atmosphere before the vocals arrive a minute in even sounding like Adler. It picks up after 2 minutes before settling back as themes are repeated. Thanks for that song guys.

So a really good album but one that pales when compared to the debut in my opinion. Still worth 4 stars though.

Pantommind's second album from 2009 named Lunasense is a kick in the face release, this is solid as rock prog metal, hardly I've belived that they will come with a second offer so inspired and so excelent played. From the opening track , the instrumental Transmission Part I , the listner knows what to expect from this great bulgarian band. To tell the truth and with my hand on heart this album is even better then the first who was already a very strong prog metal album, this Lunasense kick ass on every single piece. The musicianship is very good and very skillful arrangements, with some passges being simply amazing like the 1 and half min intro on the second piece Erasable Tears, man the sound of the guitar from here is mindblowing , really, what a piece, what a guitarist, top notch for sure. The album goes like this on every piece, Wolf and then Sandglass being my fav from here, excellent. The voice is brilliant for this kind of prog metal, Tony Ivan has a powerfull voice who is very influenced by another Tony - Tony Martin the one from Black Sabbath fame, very similar in tone of voice. Is not a bad thing because I love that period from Black Sabbath albums like Headless cross or Cross purposes are among my fav BS albums, Lunasesnse is very much in same cathegory, musical speaking not only on vocal department. Crafted passges with keybords being mainly as suported instrument but in some parts has some magnificent moments like on Sandglass or Wolf, really solid album overall. In the end a recommended album for sure, this is one of the most pleasent prog metal albums in last years offered by a band from Eastern Europe. These bulgarians did it big time, 4 stars easy. They need a wider recognition, Pantommind really knows to creat brilliant prog metal, better then most of the well known bands from this field. Great cover art for sure.

After the stunning first full length record "Shade Of Fate", the Bulgarian progressive metal band Pantommind didn't only try to copy its first album but tried out a couple of new things on this second album. While this progression seems very positive at first sight, there are still a few little reasons why I prefer their first output.

"Lunasense" sounds heavier and straighter than the first album. It includes more unpredictable and unexpected changes of style, some fast and sharp guitar solos and the band sounds even more versatile and open-minded than on the first output. The vocals have also changed and remind me less of Dream Theater or Fates Warning but rather of a mixture of X Japan and Symphony X. This new ambitious diversity has though a little negative effect. Sometimes, the vocals sound too forced and not as natural and emotional as they could. Sometimes the heaviness of the music and the new degree of diversity suffocate the magic melodies and profound atmosphere that dominated the first album and that are still but logically less present in some parts of this follow-up. Sometimes the different new and old influences of the band harm the coherence and flow of the record that sounds a little bit more twisted and complicated than the one before. "Lunasense" is without a doubt an intriguing and diversified record and I honour the courage of the band to move on but I personally prefer the laid back sounds of "Shade Of Fate" where the band excelled. Sometimes less can be more in the progressive rock or metal genre.

But there are though many positive things that justify my high rating. This album may seem bulky at a first try but it opens the more and more you listen to it. You always get something new to discover and have new favourite tracks depending on your mood and taste of the moment. A good example for this kind of phenomenon and a track that represents well the new face of the band is the song "Blank". It starts with a slow and very catchy riff to turn into a heavier riff that picks up the main melody. The verses sound like epic power metal while the bridge has many breaks and focuses on a dark atmosphere featuring a discordant guitar solo with some Arabian folk vibes. The song fades though out with some eerie futuristic keyboard vibes. Already the opener "Erasable Tears" is after one out of two great short instrumental songs a track that defines the new directions of the band. It features some really sharp riffs, energizing, versatile but maybe a little bit too high pitched vocals, weird sound effects and a healthy dose of speed that hasn't be present on the band's first strike. This track is maybe the hardest and most complex track the band has ever written.

While these tracks are enjoyable but less directly addicting, there are still songs like the calm, epic and very atmospheric "Sandglass" with its oriental vibes or the keyboard orientated early Dream Theater homage "Letter To No One". These tracks might on the other hand please very much to fans of the first record and prove that the band's changes have not been too radical and permanent. The progression is perpetual, easy to digest and logical after all. Even if they add nothing new to the formula with these songs, they happen to be my favourite ones on the album because they have so much soul and such a warm vibe that a fan of progressive music simply can't criticize these lost pearls.

In the end, the band equally and almost perfectly mixes the sound of its first record with new influences. I prefer the vibes of "Shade Of Fate" but I'm also able to enjoy the new face of the band, too. Some tracks like "Wolf" or "To The Days Of Old" also mix both sides and help to create the transition between both sides of the band's musical medal. The new one is definitely technically interesting, musically diversified and adds a surprising and changing touch to the record. This new style needs some time to grow without a doubt but the songs in fact improved as time went by and I happen to discover more and more shiny facets and interesting elements in the band's sound even if the tracks are only slightly more complex than the material they have written before. That's why this record is also quite close to perfection and in the end a surprisingly worthy follow-up of the maybe unbeatable masterpiece that has been "Shade Of Fate". I only cut off five little points because this record that we have here is less easy to approach and doesn't have a perfect flow as the first strike but there are still no real stinkers on this output so you should definitely check this band and its music out if you haven't done so yet. I wish these guys would be more recognized for the great work they have done over the years in hard conditions and in an exotic country.

Originally published on www.metal-archives.com on January 10th of the year 2012.