Italian Symphonic Metallers MOONLIGHT HAZE initially piqued my curiosity with their 2022 release Animus. This was down to their catchy melodies upholding some empowering and poignant messages. Their latest album Beyond is proving to be a mighty follow up and upholds this standard. Let me explain.
Whilst opening tracks Beyond and Tame The Storm couldn’t be more different to each other, they both provide a strong impact and ensure that you stick around for the rest of the album. Beyond is a stunning opener that brings both Enya and Celine Dion to mind, it’s heartstopping and mesmerizing.
Imagine if UNLEASH THE ARCHERS and NIGHTWISH had collaborated, Tame The Storm would give you a rough idea on what that would sound like. This particular song is very close to how my life is at the moment; the line in particular that was incredibly relatable was “Getting my life back – while unveiling who I am”. I know I won’t be the only one who relates to this line.
Empowerment is a common theme throughout these songs; they emulate this feeling through the music and lyrics incredibly well. Below are just a few examples of what I mean.
The enunciation and diction is clear in Chase The Light; because of this, I could hear the empowering and uplifting lyrics “Chase the light, don’t you hide. Find the power deep inside Take your time, free your mind Just seize the day!” on the first listen. With what’s going on in the world currently, we need messages like this more than ever to sink in and help us carry on when things get tough.
D.N.A (Do Not Apologise) is a personal favourite of mine. It’s about not apologising for who you are and being yourself. The empowering lyrics such as “When they try to darken your light To make you stay silent, Just go away And follow what’s in your DNA” reinforces this powerful message. This song also showcases two sides of Chiara Tricarico‘s versatile vocal talent.
Time To Go has a very poignant message about letting go of the past and moving forward. The minor tones in the melody do well to capture that uncertainty as you step into the unknown and let go of the past and the major tones represent that positivity when you set yourself free. If UNLEASH THE ARCHERS and EPICA collaborated, it would sound something like this. This is mainly down to the vocal styles used and the melody style.
It closes with Awakening. BEAST IN BLACK’s Blind & Frozen comes to mind as I listen to this; mainly down to the melody structure. They don’t sound too similar so you can’t tell the songs apart, BEAST IN BLACK fans may notice the similarities. The chorus is very pretty sounding and leaves us on a great note.
Beyond is an album with no fillers, each track played a main part in helping me feel uplifted and empowered. This album shows that MOONLIGHT HAZE are a band that you need to be keeping your eyes and ears out for. If you’re even remotely interested from reading this review, give this album a spin.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Lotty Whittingham
Beyond is out now.
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