This release comprises of two MCD's and the demotape recorded by this Spanish horde during the last years. "Atmospheric Black Metal" is what they're aiming for and to put the record straight, they are not really getting there. Beginning with their "Pagannature" - demo from 1998: I don't think that the world would be any poorer if that had just been left to obscurity. Poor playing abilities, ridiculous fem-vox, boring, repetitive standard riffing and a pathetic singer make for an extremely unpleasant listening. The following "Occasus Caeremonia" - MCD (2000) is the one-eyed among the blind here: slow and heavy keyboard-ladden Black Metal, sometimes reminiscent of early IN THE WOODS without ever reaching their brilliance, though. A bit lengthy but clearly a progression towards the demo, maybe due to the fact that the amount of clear vocals has been reduced drastically. Nothing to write home about but not too bad either. Unfortunately, the aptly titled "Our Lost Harmony" - MCD (2003) sees all of that going down the drain. Obviously they became a bit over-ambitious and headed for a more complex sound, but their writing and playing abilities simply don't live up to their own expectations. The result is a very dissonant sound, nothing really works out here and the single parts just don't seem to fit together. Oh, and the clean vocals are back with a vengeance, not to the benefit of it all. It would be stupid to claim that the Iberian winter maybe can't provide these guys with the right inspiration since we witnessed some quite impressive Black Metal acts like SIRIUS or APOTHEOSIS hailing from the southern edges of Europe but LUX DIVINA definitely still have a long way to go. By the way: according to the liner-notes, they dedicate the works gathered on this record to themselves "for all the incredible moments of majesty felt together". At least they had some fun... www.bloodyprod.cjb.net

Torsten Gründig

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