by Michael Giordano
Back in 2014, I got an email from Burning Shed advertising the new release “Walking on a Flashlight Beam” from a band called Lunatic Soul, which I was not familiar with at the time. Giving a listen to it on a whim, I fell in love with this fantastic album, and started looking into the artist a bit more, eventually heading over to discover Riverside. My love for “Flashlight” never quite dwindled though, and so I eagerly awaited anytime word of a new Lunatic Soul album popped up. And so, here we are, on a potentially bittersweet note, with what is slated to be the grand finale to the Lunatic Soul storyline, “The World Under Unsun”.
For the uninitiated, Lunatic Soul is a (mostly) solo endeavor by the aforementioned Mariusz Duda of Riverside, with instrumentation largely performed by Duda himself. A distinctly different entity from the band he’s mainly associated with, Lunatic Soul is a project based on the concepts of reincarnation and the circle of life and death. Whereas Riverside lies firmly with the more traditional prog and prog metal world, Lunatic Soul has always been more experimental, and atmospheric, even electronic at times. This 8th Lunatic Soul album, “Unsun,” marks the final album in the storyline. Clocking in at nearly 90 minutes, this is by far the longest album in the storyline, and in some ways, a mix of various styles experienced on previous albums.
The album opens with the haunting title track which beings with limited instrumentation, but uses sparse strings and bass to create a dark atmosphere allowing Duda’s vocals to fill the space. A great way to begin this journey. “Loop of Fate” delves into world music vibe with just Duda whispering phrases like “Break the Cycle.” “Good Memories Don’t Want to Die” is a gorgeous song that could have easily been a ballad on a Riverside album. This is one my favorites. Meanhile, “Monsters” is a bit of a heavier track with distorted bass as the main instrument – another Riverside-flavored track.
The second single released from the album “The Prophecy” is one of the album’s best tracks. Duda does a brilliant job of building this song throughout, and as the instruments come in towards the end there is a wonderful payoff. One thing I have always loved about this project is how Mariusz brings his bass guitar front and center, treating it like a solo instrument in lieu of the more traditional electric guitar. “Mind Obscured, Heart Eclipsed” has some absolutely fantastic bass riffs in the opening stretch. And of course, the vocals are absolutely impeccable, with some of his strongest recorded performances yet.
The album is long and takes some patience to absorb it all, but when you do there is a great satisfaction, as it really is an outstanding piece of work, especially with the stunning closing track “The New End.” As the the first Lunatic Soul song was “The New Beginning,” this song ties it all together with simply piano and Duda singing “You’ll always be a part of my soul.” Just breathtaking.
Now that the main storyline is complete, revisiting the whole thing might be worthwhile to see the circular plot in its entirety. But much like the video game series Dark Souls, which has served as a spiritual inspiration for the mood of this series, there’s two ways of experiencing both this album and the project as a whole. You can totally invest yourself in the lore, and storyline, or you could simply just enjoy the album(s) for what they are, which is a masterfully beautiful dark journey through the inner self. And as an aside, if you are a Souls fan, you might as well queue up this album as your soundtrack as you journey through Lothric or the Lands Between.
When this album ends, aside from the desire to replay it, the big question one must ask is “What’s next?”. With this album completing the main story, will there be some side quests similar to “Under the Fragmented Sky”, or will Mr. Duda decide to take the project in a non-story related direction, or even continue the project at all. It would certainly be a shame if Soul were to not continue, as the music is quite unlike anything out there. I for one could do with a few more strolls under Unsun. But if this is truly the end, Mariusz has certainly made an epic double album worthy of being the conclusion to this Lunatic Soul story.
Released on October 31st. 2025 on InsideOutMusic
CD1 (44:48):
1. The World Under Unsun (06:58)
2. Loop of Fate (06:19)
3. Good Memories Don’t Want to Die (04:45)
4. Monsters (04:27)
5. The Prophecy (06:42)
6. Mind Obscured, Heart Eclipsed (11:42)
7. Torn in Two (03:55)
CD2 (44:58):
1. Hands Made of Lead (08:04)
2. Ardour (04:26)
3. Game Called Life (09:41)
4. Confession (04:26)
5. Parallels (03:17)
6. Self in Distorted Glass (10:25)
7. The New End (04:29)
Order “The World Under Unsun” https://lunaticsoulmusic.lnk.to/TheWorldUnderUnsunEU
