A Grove of Ashes and Aspens

Now Playing: Beyond by Moonlight Haze

So it’s no secret that I enjoy symphonic power metal. I am the kind of person who will happily commit to the bit, and that is the essence of this particular subgenre of metal, a fact which warms my soul.

Now, Moonlight Haze in particular is a band I found because of a very particular bassist. The band itself is made up of Chiara Tricarico on vocals (and the mastermind behind lyrics and vocal arrangements), Giulio Capone on drums and keyboards (and the mastermind behind the music itself), Alberto Melinato and Marco Falanga on guitars, and Alessandro Jacobi (the aforementioned bassist) on bass, under the stage name AJ. (I’m not sure if that counts as a stage name, but we’ll run with it.)

Beyond is the fourth studio album from the Italian band, and one that I have been looking forward to.

Beyond is the opening track (and the title track) of the album. It has a much more ballad like feel, with a piano and vocal intro, almost reminiscent of A Shelter From the Storm, from their debut album. As an opening track, it is a slightly risky move, but one that I think pays off. It is a lovely song, and one that just goes to show the beautiful lyrical skill of the singer.

Tame the Storm was one of the singles from this album, and comes in as an incredible tone shift from the title track. It is far harder, and much more of a proper metal song, compared to the ballad quality of Beyond. Lyrically, it has similar themes to The Dangerous Art of Overthinking (one of my personal favourite tracks for the name alone), hinting at fear and anxiety, but with more of a twist of overcoming it and going on in spite of the fear. It touches on a bit more of the power metal side of the band’s sound, keeping a light and speedy sound under the powerful vocals.

Crystallized is, to me, the most Final Fantasy esque start to a Moonlight Haze song I ever did hear with my own two ears. (I’ve been playing a lot of XIII, okay, sue me.) This song also leans into a bit of that power metal sound, but bolstered by more of the symphonic sound, with a beautiful story of lost love soaring overtop, while never quite feeling sorry for oneself. It feels much more hopeful than one would expect from a song about lost love, but in a way where the lost love will always be remembered fondly for the good times, rather than mourned for having been lost.

Chase the Light was also one of the singles from this album, and it was a fantastic choice of single. It is an incredibly powerful anthem of pushing forward and self reliance, with an epic sound that feels intriguing the more you listen to it. It invokes images of someone finding their will to try new things again after coming out of a grieving period from the loss of something. (Maybe that lost love from earlier?) It is likely to be on my list of personal favourite tracks of the year, because it’s just that good.

Would You Dare? is a song that feels reminiscent of some of their tracks from Lunaris, with a hint of etherealness. It has a similar vibe to Crystallized, just without the Final Fantasy flavour. It’s a fun song, and it feels similar to We’ll Be Free from Animus, at least lyrically. It’s overall very interesting, and I’m a little bit surprised it wasn’t chosen as a single. It has that quality of being a single.

L’Eco Del Silenzio is the second song this band has released to properly include some lyrics in Italian, the first being Enigma (on their album Lunaris). It’s also the second ballad on the album, much more similar to A Shelter From the Storm than Beyond, which some might consider a dangerous move, but I consider to be very cool. This song is split roughly half and half between English lyrics and Italian lyrics, and I think it’s really cool that they chose to blend the languages rather than just do it in one or the other entirely. It keeps things interesting, and gives a fresh look on how language can play into the creation of a song, and especially a ballad like this. The overall vibe gives a lot to think about, with a bit more of a somber feel. As a song, this is almost certainly going to be one of my top of the year.

D.N.A. (Do Not Apologize) is a much more harsh track, with a touch of techno in the start. It has a far more dramatic and symphonic sound, leaning far more into the “expected” sound of symphonic metal while still having a darker power element to it. It is a pretty new sound for the band, but one that is very welcome as an addition to the sound. As a song, I get the sense it was written to play a bit more on some of the darker sounds other bands have been going for lately, but in a way that is unique to the various influences at play and the musicians themselves. It feels very mysterious.

Untold is a lighter track, with a more fun air of mystery compared to the darker sound of the previous track. It feels curious, more than dark, and it balances the newer sound the band seems to be trying with their older sound in a way that I really like. I find it sounds like something you’d hear in a metal musical. (If you’re confused, so am I, but not in a bad way.)

Time to Go is also a darker track, and musically, feels vaguely reminiscent of some more recent Elvenking material. It fits to the style of the band quite nicely, and there are some growls. (Give me them pretty woman in metal growls pls I want more.) It plays with the lighter vocals against the heavier guitars and darker sound in a way that scratches my brain just right. The harsher vocal parts also balance out the lighter vocals, bringing the entire track into a realm of liminality that feels very different from some of the liminal etherealness of other tracks of theirs.

Awakening was also a single for this album, and one that I enjoyed heavily. This track has a lot more of the exposed bass that really made me fall in love with the band, as well. (Though, that is pretty much everywhere in the album.) This song is also the only one where the vocal arrangements were done by one Fabio Lethien Polo, violinist of Elvenking, and when I tell you I can hear the violinist touch in it, I need you to understand how much I want more of this in metal in general. It balances different parts of Chiara’s register with a certain playfulness that is just so fun.

Alive Again is the last track on this album, and is a vinyl exclusive track. Stylistically, it feels somewhere between Horror & Thunder and The Dangerous Art of Overthinking. The best way I can describe it is that the song is smacking you in the face with a sack of bricks, but softly, if that makes sense. There are traces of their past albums all over this song, almost like they’ve been holding onto it since Lunaris and just didn’t really feel right about releasing it until now. It feels like the song grabs you by the shoulders and is trying to tell you to just go and do that thing you’ve been wanting to do because why the hell are you sitting here moping when you could be doing something fun with your life?

Overall, this album is a what the fuck out of 10, but in a good way. I love this album so much, and it comes in a very close second to my favourite albums of the year so far, which is quite impressive, considering we’ve had some incredibly solid albums, and we still have more yet to come. This band did it again and gave me chaos that I am going to love forever now.