We add another stop to the ‘ideal world tour in search of doom news, coming to Belarus to examine the work of Moonway. The Minsk band’s debut album comes after a rather troubled history that, only thanks to the stubbornness and fortitude of leader Connor Lemac, finally finds its natural outlet with My 7even, a work that features melodic and rather atmospheric doom, decidedly far from death or funeral influences. In fact, the songs are mostly characterized by rather simple but almost always impressive melodies led by elegant keyboard work, while a traditional growl is usually preferred on the vocals, despite the fact that most of the songs possess a predominantly instrumental characteristic; the only exception is Time Stops Here in which a female voice also rises to the forefront with altogether satisfactory results. My 7even (the number 7 holds a special meaning for the Belarusian musician) eventually finds its perfect synthesis in the title track, placed at the close of the album, in which Connor’s skills in tacking really pleasant and far from cloying musical scores decisively emerge; the album moreover is also rather short by the standards of the genre, and this undoubtedly aids its assimilation, but its underlying peculiarity is that of taking us back to the 90s by weight, going back to the gothic symphonic sounds of acts such as The Gathering, Crematory, Moon Of Sorrow and the same Empyrium of the early days, and if, for some of these names, the juxtaposition might seem a bit forced, it is only because the similarity lies not so much in the actual style but in the attitude to search for linear but equally effective melodies. A pleasant work that satisfactorily concretizes the efforts made in recent years by Moonway to arrive at placing a valid product on the market and, in the light of this debut step, the hope is that My 7even will have its own follow-up in the immediate future. 

2013 – More Hate Production