Moonlight Prophecy: “Eternal Oblivion” – Guns blazing and full throttle technical madness!
Moonlight Prophecy is a power and thrash metal project form southeast Pennsylvania created by guitar virtuoso Lawrence Wallace. Wallace is responsible for having written all the music for black metal band Shadows in the Crypt which gained outstanding reviews with their second full length album “Cryptic Communications” in 2012. He also wrote the music for his solo project Lawrence’s Creation which received critical acclaim too. Lawrence has written an enormous library of music, including soundtrack and synth pieces. With Moonlight Prophecy he promises to take his skillset to yet another level. And the opportunity arises with the release of the project’s debut, 3 track EP “Eternal Oblivion”.
Guitars, guitars, and guitars; great solos, shredding and bone-crushing heavy metal tones. If any of that sounds good, listen to “Eternal Oblivion”. The only real downside I can think of is there are only three tracks. The EP presents a very solid instrumental feast and you will hear the relentlessly melodic soloing and crushing rhythms you’d expect from this genre.
The guitar playing showcased here is nothing short of top tier. Production quality is great. It’s said that you should never judge something by its cover, but the picture used for the album art is definitely reflective of the whole tone of the album (epic, intriguingly dark) which I guess is the point of album art if it’s chosen correctly.
From the opening track “Spellbound” this work comes across as well thought out and well-conceived. This track offers a cacophony of listening pleasure to those of you that enjoy the combination of instrumental dominance and musical adventure to places yet untraveled. This is one of the few works of this type that offer up truly emotional melodic performances with dynamics to accentuate them nearly perfectly.
If you love virtuoso metal guitar playing, then settle your ears on this under 4 minute, master work. “Spellbound” easily transfers itself between thrashtastic riffs to beautiful melodic lines and introspective phrasing that takes you from point A to point B in a very dynamic manner.
While staying true to his knack for technicality and shred guitar, Moonlight Prophecy chooses to elevate the title track “Eternal Oblivion” to superior heights with the use of vocals. With guns blazing, and full throttle technical madness, displaying that Lawrence Wallace can play some mean guitar, what becomes apparent quite quickly on “Witch Hunt”, is that songwriting has not taken a back seat at any time on this EP, and arrangements are developed and ‘sophisticated’ if you will.
Of course, this is still a shred guitar solo record, where Lawrence takes center stage, and better so than on this track. Yet, the EP has a few tricks up its sleeve to make it memorable. Most notably the emotionally intense solos by Lawrence Wallace are ones to hit the books as stunning for their massive, majestic bends and spot on phrasing.
The idea of a solo guitar album may seem boring to some, dreadful to others. Many solo albums are composed of nothing but blistering fretboard wankery ripped straight out of Yngwie Malmsteen’s songbook. But Lawrence Wallace is an absolutely fantastic guitarist and can shred, sweep and generally melt faces like there’s no tomorrow, but he also possesses a keen ear for songwriting. And that’s what sets him apart.
