Review by Ben for Limbonic Art - Moon in the Scorpio (1996)

A unique album where a drum machine and an emphasis on symphonic aspects over riffs results in cool black metal.

Limbonic Art have a lot of aspects that could make the average black metal fan write them off without a second thought. On paper, these Norwegians are a symphonic black metal band where the symphonic aspect is much more of a priority than the metal itself. In fact, for most of the album it can be a little hard to hear the guitars at all as they're so damn low in the mix. Surely a black metal band wouldn't relegate guitars to a background, secondary instrument, would they? Well that's pretty much what this band did! Add to this the fact that Limbonic Art use simple computerised drumming and one could very easily assume that an album like Moon in the Scorpio isn't worth wasting your time on. If you're unfortunate to make that decision, then you'll be missing out on something quite special.

Somehow, despite all the above features, this band produces extremely atmospheric music that is both dark and moving. The fantastic artwork by Morpheus (maybe someone can confirm whether this is band member Morfeus or a separate artist) gives one the impression that Limbonic Art will have a cosmic theme, and that certainly comes across in the sound. All the electronics give Moon in the Scorpio a kind of alien feel that is both timeless and intriguing. At times it is bombastic and operatic (such as the beginning of In Mourning Mystique), but for most of the running time it is dark, epic and majestic. The keyboard melodies very rarely enter corny realms and Morfeus manages a consistent, memorable quality throughout which is essential given the importance placed on this aspect of their sound.

But what about those simplistic, repetitive computerised drums I hear you ask! Well, as much as I would have preferred a little bit of variety to the percussion, the drum machine works perfectly well within this music. It has a pretty good sound despite being obviously computerised and adds a kind of industrial feel, which is not at all at odds with the atmosphere of Limbonic Art. I'm not the type of narrow-minded metal fan that refuses to listen to fake drums, even when they sound decent, which is certainly the case here. Special mention should also be given to Daemon's vocals which are consistently venomous yet varied. His typical black metal style is given great support by both clean male and operatic female vocals which is all tastefully and effectively done.

The result of all this is an enjoyable album that manages to be quite unique through a simple change of emphasis. If I tried to give you some sort of comparison to other bands, I think I'd end up with the epic aspects of Emperor combined with the simple yet effective aspects of Summoning, that somehow reminds me of death metal outfit Septic Flesh. Which of course doesn't help at all! Check out awesome tracks like Beneath the Burial Surface, Through Gleams of Death and Beyond the Candles Burning to see whether Limbonic Art connect with you. It's also worth noting that the album was re-released with bonus track The Dark Rivers of the Heart which is a great track. I'm not quite sure why it wasn't originally included but I highly recommend finding a version that has it included.