Search - Unto Ashes :: Moon Oppose Moon

Beautiful Album

Dancing Ganesha | Bangalore, India | 01/21/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title conveys a delving into something moody and dark, and it very well is; however, this isn't your typical "Goth" fare. This is an exotic and elusive band often described as a "neo-medieval dirge band." Best tracks include the sweet and eerie "Teach Me How To Drown" (". . .There's something I can't do, I don't know how, just asking for some love, it's killing me. . .I'm way out here, I can't see the shore. . .); the very medievalesque "Quid Vides," "Scourge," also featuring his vocals, opens up sounding very bucolic, but soon, as the song unfolds, the lyrics and the mood change tone into something more rich and strange and existential (. . ."my face is full of blood as I drown. . .from ocean to ocean. . .oh joyless joy to feel the stripes. . .salted bloody across my back. . ."); "Viper Song," with its haunting voices and dark theme of evil seen in the personage of a lover, "Der Letze Ritter" is a true German Romantic revivalist piece, disturbing, but spiritual, haunting, and truly reminiscent of German Romantic sensibilities (translated: ". . .burning on my Breast the Horseman's Flower stings me; Lest my Heart sleep in the House of the Dead, set me afire, let my Corpse burn high. . ."); "Sojourner" is a piano piece in the Romantic genre, reminiscent of Robert Schumann; "Swarm" is a disjointed eerie "vignette", and is not at all uninteresting like most vignettes I've heard from other groups; the beautiful "Estuans Interius" has a Baroque beat (so it seems), with some medieval flourishes, while "Sonnet Macabre", also in the Baroquish style (with harp), is sad and sweet, detailing a love for a "corrupt" person, who, in his of her beauty, "knows the depths of sin." As the song grows in intensity, the beauty and irony of the song concludes with the line "I love you since you know remorse and tears, And in your troubled loveliness appears..." All in all, the entire album is excellent, but the above favourites are just an example of the excellency of this group."

Beautiful Melancholy

Dancing Ganesha | 09/27/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is truly amazing... a haunting and sorrowful blend of music and emptiness. Male and female vocals, lots of unique instrumentation and lovely orchestrations that move between the very simple and the very complex, different languages, all creating a distinctly evocative whole.I find the female vocals on this piece to be positively heartbreaking. One can almost hear the tears in her voice as she sings of lost love and desolation. But then, on Der Letzte Ritter (sung in german), she displays a vibrant strength. The instrumental pieces are equally moving, particularly the very ambient Swarm, which has an middle eastern flair to it, and a real texture.By all means, PICK UP THIS ALBUM!"

Moon Oppose Moon: A synthesis of the ancient and the modern

Lillian Tominaga | Los Angeles, California | 09/17/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I acquired "Moon oppose Moon" over a year ago, and I must say that it is one of the best albums I have ever heard.The album contains an eclectic group of songs, which feature hauntingly beautiful male and female vocals, ancient instruments (hammered dulcimer, hurdy-gurdy, harp, bells),modern instruments (keyboards and guitar), and lyrics with literary, historical, and linguistic references. Unto Ashes have their own unique style, into which they incorporate other musical styles (Medieval, Classical, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, Gothic Rock, Industrial, and Renaissance). The most salient feature of this album is Michael Laird's beautiful, elegant voice, which at some times is very sorrowful, and at other times very peaceful. Unto Ashes' music is a beautiful and evocative synthesis of the ancient and the modern, which has the power to bring you to tears, inspire you to do something creative, and make you dance around a maypole (or in a club). If you like Dead Can Dance, Ordo Equitem Solis, Slowdive, or Medieval music, you will probably like "Moon Oppose Moon". I recommend that you buy this album. You will probably fall in love with it."