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April 2024

• War Grave: War Grave EP
• Six By Six: Beyond Shadowland
• Vanden Plas: The Empyrean Equation Of The Long Lost Things
• Praying Mantis: Defiance
• King Zebra: Between The Shadows
• About Us: Take A Piece
• Blue Oyster Cult: Ghost Stories

March 2024

• Cruzh: The Jungle Revolution
• Whom Gods Destroy: Insanium
• The Prog Collective: Dark Encounters
• Lords Of Black: Mechanics Of Predacity
• Lipz: Changing The Melody
• The End Machine: The Quantum Phase
• Stargate: Escaping The Illusion
• Turbulence: Binary Dream
• Sonata Arctica: Clear Cold Beyond
• D'Luna: Monster
• Big Big Train: The Likes Of Us
• Benjamin Croft: We Are Here To Help

February 2024

• Traveler: Prequel To Madness
• Lionheart: The Grace Of A Dragonfly
• Honeymoon Suite: Alive
• Durbin: Screaming Steel
• Smoking Snakes: Danger Zone
• Revolution Saints: Against The Winds
• Striker: Ultrapower
• Show N Tell: The Ritual Has Begun
• Robert Hart: Circus Life

January 2024

• Corvus: Immortals
• Caligula's Horse: Charcoal Grace
• Grand: Second To None
• Neal Morse: The Restoration - Joseph - Part Two
• The Rods: Rattle The Cage
• Gotus: Gotus
• Metalite: Expedition One
• Cobrakill: Serpent's Kiss
• Jack Russell & Tracii Guns: Medusa
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 1
• The Grandmaster: Black Sun

[ More Music Reviews ]

D'Luna: Monster

Heavy Rock

4.0/5.0

Label Facebook
Escape Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 01.03.2024 | Released: 23.02.2024

D'Luna is David De Luna, an American guitarist born in Texas and now living in Los Angeles. And that's about as much as I know about him. I don't know if he has any previous recordings or has played in a band. He does have a Facebook presence. But mostly the facts are sketchy. Monster is his new album on the Escape Music label. The recording musicians include Jeff Scott Soto on vocals, Philip Bynoe (Steve Vai) on bass, Dan Meyers on keys, and Oren Halmut on drums. The album also features King's X vocalist and bassist dUg Pinnick on the title track.

Monster features De Luna's songwriting and guitar work, and can best be described as heavy guitar rock, bordering on heavy metal. De Luna's riffs are thick and assertive, his fret work spry, and his solos soaring. Soto on vocals is a perfect match for his sound, simply because Soto does heavy rock himself and quite well. But now Monster sounds like a Jeff Scott Soto album.

Then to speak to some songs and De Luna guitar, you'll find thick heavy, more metal rockers with Blink Of An Eye, Monster, Zombie, and Blackened Heart, but only after its slight smooth start. Rabbit Hole has the same start before turning heavy and quite persussive thanks to the drum and bass line. Speaking to the same, One Truth has a most excellent beginning thanks to Oren Halmut's haunting rhythmic drumming. But then it turns into another punchy heavy rocker.

Alternatively, in the middle of the album are three songs that take a slightly different turn: Believe In Love, One Voice, and 1-2-3. All three are still heavy but the song melody and harmony rise larger, as do the vocal harmonies, especially within One Voice. 1-2-3 also has somehting of a funky groove inhabiting the arrangement. Returning to De Luna's guitar lines, across the album you can expect strong, well-crafted, soaring solos.

All said, if you enjoy guitar-driven heavy rock with punch, groove, tough riffs, and roaring solos, you will enjoy David De Luna's project D'Luna and debut album Monster featuring Jeff Scott Soto on vocals. Recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

If you enjoy guitar-driven heavy rock with punch, groove, tough riffs, and roaring solos, you will enjoy David De Luna's project D'Luna and debut album Monster featuring Jeff Scott Soto on vocals. Recommended.

Support the artist, click the link below to buy the album in your favorite format.

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Three years have passed since Sweden's Cruzh dropped their second long-player, Tropical Thunder, also introducing their new singer, Alex Waghorn. Now the band returns with The Jungle Revolution ... [ Read More ]

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