California’s Lunar have recently released their fourth album “The Illusionist” featuring album guests Jørgen Munkeby (Shining), Christian Münzner (Obscura), Andy Gillion (Mors Principium Est), Taylor Washington (Paladin), Sam Vallen (Caligula's Horse), Ben Karas (Thank You Scientist), Gleb Kanasevich, and Patrick Corona. 

The nine-track album takes the listener through the life of a magician as he confronts the choices in life and offers a metaphor for those who also question their path. They have created a listening video for the serene, instrumental track “For My Next Trick” – premiered exclusively through BraveWords! Written by bassist Ryan Price, the low end plays a prominent part in this track and it signifies the calm before and after the storm where the main character has an idea for one last epic trick to pull and finally feels a sense of peace. 

The band goes into detail:

“For the final single of the album we wanted to show something a bit different. This song is very different from everything else we’ve released so far. The song is instrumental and very soft and serene. The polar opposite of the track ‘Juggling Chainsaws,’ which was the first single released from the album and also the track that directly precedes this one on the album. We wanted this one to be out there for people who haven’t listened to the album yet and see what kind of extreme variety they can expect between songs.”

Lunar cites that they have an interesting process when it comes to writing because the story or concept has come first with the last couple of albums. Then that gives a rough layout of how the music should assist in the storytelling and then the lyrics come last to really fill it in. Compared to their other three albums, which had a lot of prog-rock sounds, the newer stuff has more metal influences, and this new album has steered into new sounds they’ve never done before. There are more technical songs, there’s one that’s very Egyptian sounding, and one that is very Lunatic Soul inspired.

Expansive, creative, and technical, Lunar offers wild stories and impressive riffs. They are recommended for fans of Caligula’s Horse, Devin Townsend, and Opeth. Order The Illusionist on Bandcamp.

Tracklisting:

“Prestidigitation”
“The Illusionist”
“Showtime”
“Worship The Sun”
“Turn Off The World”
“Disassembled”
“Juggling Chainsaws”
“For My Next Trick”
“Now You See Me”

Recording Lineup: 
Drums & Percussion – Alex Bosson (Music - Track 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8,9) (Lyrics - Track 2, 3, 5, 6,9) 
Guitars – Balmore Lemus (Music - Track 4) (Lyrics - Track 4, 7 Bass – Ryan Price (Music - Track 8) 
Keyboards & Synthesizers – Alex Nasla 
Lead Vocals – Chandler Mogel 
Growl Vocals – Brian Lewis 
Clarinet – Gleb Kanasevich (Track 1) 
Saxophone – Patrick Corona (Track 2) 
Flute & Saxophone – Jørgen Munkeby (Track 6) 
Violin & Viola – Ben Karas (Track 9) 
Additional Guitar Solo – Andy Gillion (Track 2) 
Additional Guitar Solo – Taylor Washington (Track 3) 
Additional Guitar Solo – Sam Vallen (Track 5) 
Additional Guitar Solo – Christian Münzner (Track 7)