Band: MOANAA
Country: Poland
Title: Embers
Label: Deformeathing Production
Year: 2021
Style: Post Metal

Review:
Moanaa (what a strange name for a Metal band, made me think of a kids animation movie) was founded in 2008 and this is their third full-length album to date, also their first on Deformeathing Production, and their first since they've changed more than half of the band members, so I'm pretty sure their fans expected this with massive anticipation although they have released an EP, Torches, in 2019 that gave away some of the mystery. We're treated here with 6 long tracks clocking 40 minutes of playing time, a mostly mid-tempo, heavy Post Metal fine-balanced between the roughness of the main vocals (at times a clean, soothing vocal also takes over) and the melodic, melancholic even guitar leads, all on thick layers of heavy guitar riffs and an oppressive rhythm section; the drums go into fast rampages here and there, but the overall impression is of a mid-tempo material that mostly relies on building some deeply tormenting atmospheres that are also enhanced by moments of ethereal calm. The compositions are quite catchy and varied enough to keep the interest high throughout the audition, but the harshness of vocals might present some problems for part of the audience; as for me, I found 4 of the 6 tracks very catchy and memorable which means this makes a very good album in my books. Released in a classy 10-panel digipak version that unfortunately doesn't feature the lyrics, just the artwork that might or might not help in better understanding what the band had to express.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8/10

Contact:
moanaa.bandcamp.com
deformeathing.com