Lunar Chamber – Shambhallic Vibrations (EP)
Release Date: 28th April 2023
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive/Technical Death Metal.
FFO: Chthe’ilist, Demilich, Cynic, VoidCeremony, Gorguts, Artificial Brain, Immolation, Opeth.
Review By: Eric Wilt
20 Buck Spin has been on a role this year, releasing top-tier album after top-tier album. Next up for the Pennsylvania powerhouse label is relative newcomer Lunar Chamber, who, with their debut EP, Shambhallic Vibrations, has set the bar by which all other 20 Buck Spin releases will be judged. Deftly merging progressive song writing with eastern philosophy and crushing death metal, the band which is made up of Timeworn Nexus on guitars, vocals, and programming, They, Who May Not Be Perceived on guitars and vocals, Æther Lotus on fretless bass, and K. Paradis on drums has released one of the better albums to come out in the progressive/technical death metal genre for some time. As you may have guessed from the mysterious names of its members, Lunar Chamber dabbles in the mystical and has arranged the three main songs on the album as a pilgrimage from self-analysis to enlightenment to the spiritual plane and back to normal life. It’s a deep premise for a death metal album, but the music and presentation fit the subject matter well, allowing Lunar Chamber to succeed where a lesser band may fall short of their lofty expectations.
The first track on the album is called Intro (Shambhallic Vibrations) and plays like an invitation to begin the journey that they have set before the listener. After 45 seconds of chant-like strings, Lunar Chamber kicks in the death metal, and it is clear that this journey to enlightenment will not be wholly peaceful. Spirit Body and the Seeing Self is next and combines some seriously technical shredding with a chorus of programmed vocals that almost sounds like a bunch of monks singing Om. Instantly you can tell that the band is filled with incredible musicians, but the fretless bass work of Æther Lotus stands out for their impeccable technique and melodicism. Interlude (Ancient Sage) follows with a trance-like 45 seconds of abstraction to clean the pallet before the technical death metal returns in The Bodhi Tree. There are two main styles of vocals that are used on the album. The first is a typical low death growl that fits perfectly with the music. The other style is a gurgle-growl that is on display the most on this track. Both types of vocals are good, but the typical death growl is my favorite of the two. The final song on the album is III. Crystalline Blessed Light Flows…from Violet Mountains into Lunar Chambers, and at nearly thirteen-minutes is the longest song on the album. It begins with an interlude of its own built right into the song. Made up of a lot more slow parts (in addition to the death metal) than the first two songs, III. Crystalline Blessed Light Flows…from Violet Mountains into Lunar Chambers feels like a pilgrimage of its own. Moving from light to dark to light and to dark again in a way that encapsulates the idea of the album as a whole.
Shambhallic Vibrations is only three songs and five total tracks long, but it is packed with enough mind-expanding progressive death metal goodness to fill an album twice as long. And as for the best album on 20 Buck Spin this year, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one that can top Lunar Chambers’ debut.
(4 / 5)
