There’s a lot to like from the debut of Barcelona’s Pagan metal act Lux Divina. It’s a well produced black metal record full of foresty, heathen pride and regal pagan grandiosity as well as trademark melodic black metal trappings.

Versed metal heads will detect the immediate influence of Borknagar and Vintersorg as well as early In The Woods (HEart of the Ages), notably in the vocals of Norax who amid his typical black metal shrieks delivers a very operatic Garm/Andread Hedlund styled clean croon. And while I actually enjoyed his clean vocals, there will be many that will think he’s overdoing it a bit, and his Spanish cadence and accent does not help (i.e. “Forgotten Divinity (Deletrix) Part I”, “Praised Hymn to the Horned God”, “Serpent’s Philosophy”). Personally, I thought they added warmth and a little character.

Amid the melodic tremolo picked jaunts, there are the usual injections of acoustic, folky ambience, but it’s all well balanced as the music delivers plenty of solid riffs and amicable blackened intensity. From the aforementioned “Forgotten Divinity (Deletrix) Part I”, standout “The Mother Nature’s Tomb” and the later stages of the album like “Black Goddess’ Mountains” and “To Darkened Catacombs” all show the bands grasp of melding woody ferocity and an organic nod to mother nature (“Naturalistic Cults”) into an enjoyable, if hardly groundbreaking effort.

[Visit the band's website]

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