HAUNT - Luminous Eyes (MCD)

Hailing from the United States, HAUNT is the work of modern renaissance man Trevor William Church. Son of Montrose bassist Bill Church, the California native has already come to prominence as the vocalist/guitarist of doom-lords Beastmaker, who've released two critically acclaimed albums on Rise Above. However, as HAUNT, Church goes solo and creates a bewitching brew of classic, turn-of-the-'80s heavy metal, drawing deeply from the momentous NWOBHM movement. Across the four tracks comprising Luminous Eyes, Church quickly establishes a mood somewhere between resignation and resilience. By no means "doomed" per se, the downered fog encasing Luminous Eyes lays the foundation for luxuriously subtle hooks to take hold and entrance the listener. If HAUNT's namesake is anything to go by, then surely Church has accomplished his goal!

But, let it be known that these four introductory tracks are deceptively anthemic and wholly invigorating, so gaze deeply into Luminous Eyes and herald the triumphant beginning of HAUNT!