Lunarmare are a Greek band that play space rock with a contemporary power rock edge. Their self-titled debut consists of ten tracks, four of which are “Trans Lunar Injection” transitional bits that typically include Nasa-astronaut and other such voice samples. Bullet is a power rocker with an accessible contemporary rock feel, but also a prominent spacey keyboard presence. The killer space rocking Rings of Saturn is my favorite track of the set. It’s totally cosmic, it’s hypnotic, it’s atmospheric, it jams, it’s stoned, it’s intense, it grooves… I dig it. Forget & Forgive is a dynamic metal-melodic-atmospheric tune. Pale Blue Dot is another hot track, consisting of dark and ominous space symphonic rocking drift that builds up to Lunarmare’s brand of deep space power rock. Less on the spacey side but as powerful as anything on the album is the metallic rocking Answer. And Overthought is a tasty slab of space metal with monstrously potent jamming that closes the set.
In summary, this is a pretty hot album. Using the “contemporary power rock” description means I’m clutching at straws a bit so it’s hard to make analogies. I suspect fans of the past decade of Porcupine Tree would dig these guys, though Lunarmare are more overtly space rock than the Tree. Check ’em out and hear for yourself.
For more information visit the Lunarmare web site at: http://lunarmare.bandcamp.com
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz