Moonloop

MOONLOOP – DEEPLY FROM THE EARTH (6)

Since the formation of the Spanish foursome in Barcelona over ten years ago, Moonloop have released three well-received demos and played countless gigs, supporting bands like Anathema and Leaves’ Eyes. It’s taken more than a decade, but they’re finally releasing their first full-length album, ‘Deeply From The Earth’, a mix of reworked demo material and new songs. Their sound, a mix of early Opeth and Gojira, lends itself to the preoccupied lunacy their name is suggestive of.

Moonloop’s dynamic delivery switches between harsh, progressive death metal to atmospheric riffs and resonant bass. First track ‘Awaking Spirals Of Time’ is somewhat deceptive, suggesting that ‘Deeply..’ will be an expansive, exotic soundscape. But as soon as track two, death metal-heavy ‘Beginning Of The End’ starts, its impact is flat in comparison to the grandeur of track one and the transfigured grace of the guitar – an instrument that repeatedly revisits the soundscape and provides relief from the generally unimaginative metal parts. This pattern continues for two thirds of the album, then the last tracks mellow out a little, the metal losing its grating edge.

Like previous works, ‘Deeply From The Earth’ has a great focus on Mother Earth; its destructive power is echoed in the discordant nature of the music and its raw, Pagan approach. All good and well and nicely done, but as a whole, the album sounds disjointed, as if Moonloop haven’t fully formed their true sound yet. They show a great deal of promise, but ‘Deeply From The Earth’ is too scattered to translate into a comprehensive listening experience.

Reviewed by Annette Simmonds
Deeply From The Earth is out now on Listenable

You’ll like this if… you like Opeth’s early work.
Moonloop