Hunters Moon – The Serpents Lust (2009)

As I’m finishing with this last album from Hells Headbangers, I’m noticing that the label has a very good eye for bands that have that old-school sound, but at the same time make it their own.

Hunters Moon is an Aussie band that plays very good Black Metal a la Bathory, with some Morrigan and even early Immortal influences. This EP takes us back to those good old times when Black Metal was more than just a pose, and gives us 21 minutes of great music.

The first thing I noticed on this album is that the guitar riffs have that Bathory feeling with the Immortal melodic touch to them, making them very appealing and entertaining. However this band’s approach to Black Metal is very simplistic and they don’t have a wide variety of guitar riffs or acrobatics like Immortal does, but their simple approach is more than enough to create good BM music.

The vocals sound a bit more modern than the ones used in the past with Bathory and Morrigan, and give the band that touch that sets them apart from all the old-school copy cat bands out there. Also there is no need for the ‘recorded in the toilet’ sound here since Bathory never went down that path, and this band is hanging very close to them when it comes to their sound.

I must say that for 21 minutes this band has made a very good impression on me and I would surely be looking forward for their full length albums in the future. If you are a Black Metal fan, and don’t like fancy keyboard or the extreme ‘grim’ sound in your music, this is the album for you.

Release: August 28, 2009

Country: Australia