Review: Lunar Chamber – Shambhallic Vibrations

Style: prog death metal, technical death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Cynic, Atheist, Beyond Creation, Blood Incantation
Review by: Andy
Country: United States-GA
Release date: 28 April, 2023

I am fully bought into metal’s powers to allow for access into a state of sublime transcendence: I have written dozens of pages of academic literature on the topic (some coming to the blog soon…), and I have deduced that it’s the reason metal speaks to me. Lunar Chamber also clearly believe that metal can access some form of enlightenment, and they peer to the East for the wisdom to find it. In this meditative quest to reach enlightenment, Lunar Chamber fascinatingly mix new age with pummeling technical death metal, following in the footsteps of groups like Cynic, Astral Tomb, and Tómarúm. So will you follow the band to sit under the Bodhi tree, follow in the footsteps of Buddha, and achieve enlightenment?  

In “Intro (Shamballic Vibrations),” the Eastern melodies effortlessly transform into a startlingly heavy tremolo riff where my ear immediately latches onto the haunting fretless bass underneath the surface chaos. Simultaneously fascinating and perplexing, the performances of Lunar Chamber ingeniously integrate synths, eerie background trem riffs, and subtle spoken word behind a wall of turbulent death metal–yet even with volcanically gurgling vocals, the band most often sounds impeccably serene–probably because of that synth backdrop. More puzzling still are the guitar solos of Timeworm Nexus and They, Who May Not Be Perceived, solos which gloriously dazzle above the filthiest fretless licks you’ve heard this year. The instrumental proficiency comes as no surprise looking at the band’s pedigree, including stints in Proliferation, Tómarúm, and The Ritual Aura. Lunar Chamber even snagged Ne Obliviscaris’ new phenomenally talented human metronome Kevin Paradis to provide whatever the antonym of an asystolic pulse is. Across the whole album, Lunar Chamber have no qualms demonstrating their absurd talent, too, but the solo section near the end of “Spirit Body and the Seeing Self” really shows off what the band can do as the guitars diminish into an honest-to-god fretless bass solo with the phattest tone I’ve heard all year–even including playing like Hugo Doyon-Karout’s in Metasphæra that I driveled on about or the filthy tone of Lunar Chamber’s label-mates VoidCeremony.  

While the first two full tracks are predominantly scorching proggy tech death, they have tons of little meditative, Cynic-esque ornamentations. In this case, the little clean bits are well-integrated compositionally–even when just brief sojourns into the spiritual realm–because of how superbly clean the production is. Beginning with a goal to learn about enlightenment, these brief windows into a more meditative, plaintive mood are understandable glimpses into a more spiritual future. As the album progresses and the listener gets closer to transcendence, the metal backs away further culminating with the epic finale, deserving of its name “III. Crystalline Blessed Light Flows… From Violet Mountains into Lunar Chambers,” that becomes a dreamy soundscape of fretless bass and ethereal synths as gorgeous as Dream Unending’s landmark doom album last year. That finale, too, bursts into furious tremolos after a few minutes, but the chanting clean vocals near the end lull you back to a state of heightened awareness and elevated spirituality. The insane, stream-of-consciousness flow of the song intensifies the track above its contemporaries and genuinely feels sublime. Each time I’ve heard the phenomenal solos or gorgeous and calm fretless in “III. Crystalline Blessed Light Flows… From Violet Mountains into Lunar Chambers” while reviewing, I’ve felt awestruck at the songwriting and vibe of the music. 

Like all the best EPs, I wish this were a full length because everything about Shambhallic Vibrations is so damn majestic. The ebbs and flows of the writing, the pacing, the performances… this is the most impressive debut EP we’ve gotten in a long time, and I can’t wait for more. Take me to that higher plane of existence, Lunar Chamber! 

Recommended tracks: Spirit Body and the Seeing Self, III. Crystalline Blessed Light Flows… From Violet Mountains into Lunar Chambers
You may also like: Tómarúm, Astral Tomb, Virvum, Aethereus, Dream Unending, VoidCeremony, Proliferation, The Ritual Aura, Dessiderium
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metallum

Label: 20 Buck Spin – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Lunar Chamber is:
– Timeworm Nexus (guitars, vocals)
– They, Who May Not Be Perceived (guitars, vocals)
– Æther Lotus (fretless bass)
– Kevin Paradis (drums)