Luna Mortis

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: White Empress – Rise of the Empress

Things You Might Have Missed 2014: White Empress – Rise of the Empress

By Angry Metal Guy on January 17, 2015 in 2014, Black Metal, Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Peaceville, Reviews, Things You Might Have Missed 2014, 19 comments

Twenty-fourteen was a busy one for me, but that’s no excuse for me not covering White Empress’s début record Rise of the Empress which came out in September from Peaceville Records. It’s hard to know whether or not to call White Empress a super group, per se, but the heart of the band is Paul Allen and Will Graney—previously of Cradle of Filth. From the Empress’ mouth herself, Allen and Graney put together some demo tracks and started working with Mary Zimmer, formerly vocalist for Luna Mortis. This developed slowly, spawning a Bandcamp site and some pretty wicked imagery The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe imagery before the band finally got picked up by Peaceville. Next thing you know and Rise of the Empress was released and I completely biffed on it. Regardless of my schedule or whether or not White Empress qualifies as a “supergroup,” Rise of the Empress is a strong showing that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Charred Walls of the Damned – Charred Walls of the Damned Review

Charred Walls of the Damned – Charred Walls of the Damned Review

By Angry Metal Guy on January 23, 2010 in 2010, 3.0, American Metal, Metal Blade, Reviews, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, 0 comments

Charred Walls of the Damned has two distinct honors from the get-go: not only is it the longest band name EVER, but it’s also the first thing in which excellent drummer Richard Christy has surfaced in since going to the Howard Stern show and leaving American power metallers Iced Earth in the dust. I think everyone was wondering when he was going to jump back into metal, myself included. It’s hard to imagine that the former Death and Iced Earth drummer was just going to leave everything behind. Given his background it was only a matter of time. And not just his background: homeboy has contacts, too! He brings with him the mighty Jason Suecof, mostly known for his production (Trivium, Luna Mortis, God Forbid and so on), but who is also a fucking wicked ass guitar player (seriously, dude can shred). On bass, of course, is the mighty Steve DiGiorgio who played with Christy in Iced Earth and Death. How can this project possibly lose?

Interview with Mary Zimmer from Luna Mortis

Interview with Mary Zimmer from Luna Mortis

By Angry Metal Guy on January 22, 2010 in 2009, 2010, American Metal, Century Media, Interviews, Power Metal, Progressive Death, Progressive Metal, Things You Might Have Missed 2009, Unsigned Bands, Power Metal, Progressive Metal, 1 comment

One of the most promising bands that I’ve ever encountered in my time in the underground has been Luna Mortis. Within the scene that they were surrounded by, it was basically taken for granted that if someone from the scene was going to take off it would be them (at the time called The Ottoman Empire). To no one’s surprise they got bigger, got better management, got a better band together and continued developing. To no one’s surprise they started getting good press and good reviews and making contacts. To, I think, a lot of people’s surprise they ended up getting signed by Century Media. Not that they didn’t deserve it, but just to think that a group of local kids were getting picked up by the label that had shepherded so many of us into the extreme metal scene was pretty astounding.

Luna Mortis Dropped by Century Media

By Angry Metal Guy on December 25, 2009 in 2009, American Metal, Blog Posts, Century Media, Things You Might Have Missed 2009, Progressive Metal, 0 comments

Unfortunately, the up-and-coming Madison, Wisconsin progressive metal act Luna Mortis has been dropped by Century Media. There’s a lot that I can say, but I think honestly that Century is not only making a mistake here, but I think just in general that labels are unwise to not let bands develop. Honestly, the business is so cut-throat and retarded sometimes. These guys are seriously talented, and I hope they get picked up by someone who gives them a chance. Especially since Century signed fucking Iced Earth and gave them how many records to get good? Seriously…

Evile – Infected Nations Review

Evile – Infected Nations Review

By Angry Metal Guy on September 24, 2009 in 2009, 3.0, Earache Records, Reviews, Thrash Metal, 2 comments

Thrash revival has been a big deal of late. I mean, thrash is the biggest thing since.. well, thrash, in the metal scene right now. Bands from all over the world, particularly in the underground, are donning tight jeans, jean jackets, Kreator and Exodus patches and looking for the next big thrash prodigy. Earache is not the only label releasing thrash revival stuff, it’s coming from everywhere (Candlelight has been particularly prolific with the thrash revival). Evile is on that bandwagon, whether they like it or not, but they have a different take on it. That is: they sound a lot more like the mature Bay Area.