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Band: Luciferian Light Orchestra
Album title: Luciferian Light Orchestra
Release date: 30 April 2015
Label: Adulruna Records
Tracklist:
01. Dr. Faust On Capri
02. Church Of Carmel
03. Taste The Blood Of The Altar Wine
04. A Black Mass In Paris
05. Eater Of Souls
06. Venus In Flames
07. Sex With Demons
08. Moloch
09. Dante And Diabaulus
"Beauty hanging in chains
Love and pain on the altar"
While we are waiting for the next release from the mighty symphonic metallers Therion, which should be as promised a proper opera metal album and that could take still quite some time to see the light of the world, the main man and composer Christofer Johnsson suprises with something truly special, a new band named Luciferian Light Orchestra. It stands for everything that Christofer composed throughout the years and somehow didn't fit on any of the Therion albums, it might have been too vintage sounding, maybe too dark and occult, not so symphonic, even too popy in some regards, but no matter what those compositions and pieces were, now they got a proper form and shape on the self titled debut album from Luciferian Light Orchestra. It can be a coincidence that the album influenced by 70s occult rock came out just now when the interest in this kind of music is rapidly growing with acts such as Ghost B.C., The Devils Blood, Blood Ceremony, Year Of The Goat,..., still it doesn't really matter because the music made for this album can be counted as a missing link between Therion's majestic symphonic sound and 70s dark occult rock. Most of the things around Luciferian Light Orchestra are wrapped in a veil of mystery, we don't know who the performers are beside Christofer, and be aware that for the creation of this album there were involved five guitarists, two drummers, four lead singers and five backing vocalists, three hammond organists, two keyboard players, so, a pretty varied pattern, just like in the case of Therion but a bit diminished.
The album offers nine songs plus an untitled bonus, with a running time just a bit over 35 minutes, but believe me that your soul will be taken and sold to the demonic powers in an instant. The sound of the guitar, symphonic elements and a lot of compositions on the album are still recognizable as a trademark Christofer Johnsson work, yes, already the first riffs and melodies on the opener "Dr. Faust On Capri" are just like being taken from some Therion track from the Theli or Vovin era, not to mention all the choirs that add a lot of depth and dynamics to the whole spectrum of sounds. Yet the sound is quite different from what we are used to hear from Therion as it was recorded in a different manner with use of some vintage recording devices and this procedure certainly left an imprint on the songs, there's a certain long forgotten charm of the 70s, but you won't believe how clear everything is, how much depth and power is in the sound, not alike we are used from many of other contemporary bands who just try to tune everything down and make it rough vintage sounding with modern contraptions.
Songs like extremely catchy "Church Of Carmel" or the chorus on too short "Eater Of Souls" have an intriguing danceable folkish celtic vibe, and the popy melody of both choruses will remain in your head for days if not for months, we heard some similar things on Gothic Kabbalah, didn't we? Add to that all those captivating, somehow darkly erotic vocal lines and the magic is done. On the other hand the magical and ritualistic Black Sabbath-ish "Taste The Blood Of The Altar Wine" is strong retro sounding occult primitive heavy rocker with some of the best guitar leads in here, but once the alchemic groover "A Black Mass In Paris" with an early Deep Purple/Rainbow riff starts to spin the dark spiritual forces are all there to lead you into the demonic vertigo of contradictions. Then if Jimi Hendrix, Black Widow and Therion will team up somewhere on the Orient I believe that a song like "Venus In Flames" would pop out.
There's a slight taste of psychedelia in the perverse dark and occultistic "Sex With Demons". How nicely the hammond organ connects with a real retro guitar lead in this one, but the real darkness is yet to come with "Moloch". A punishing doomy vibrant yet complex unity of maybe the gloomiest elements ever used by Christofer. Great male vocals and choirs together with slow haunting riffs form such an astonishing curtain of flamboyant cinematic horror sound. The album gets a nice twist with a bit more energetic true symphonic occult hard rocker "Dante And Diabaulus". To make a mystery factor around Luciferian Light Orchestra even bigger the unmentioned and untitled bonus track unites all the elements mentioned before plus adding an evident Mercyful Fate vibe and leaves a door wide open to our imagination when the album will be put on the repeat many times, I'm sure about that.
Luciferian Light Orchestra' debut is even though being an elegant vintage sounding album still fresh, in a twisted way modern and offers many different elements which take the listener from one mood into another with such a lighty way. When you think that the music in here could became too complex, psychedelic or perverse, Luciferian Light Orchestra immediately kicks off with such a catchy structure that you'll be in an instant put again into the corridor of this musical occultistic, yet conceptual journey. I won't explain how appropriate the production is, it's nothing strange that Christofer doesn't leave nothing to chance, and each single element, even lyrics, beautiful golden album cover, simply everything is just rightly done and inserted into the whole album structure. Now, take off your dress and join Luciferian Light Orchestra in the sabbath!
Review written by: T.V.
Rating: 9,5/10
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