Lutharo: A timeline, Tarantino style. Rewind to November of 2023 and I happened to see Paladin was to play at one of my favorite venues, Westside Bowl in Youngstown, OH. I gazed upon the digital flyer and saw Lutharo would be headlining. I remembered the band name, thinking someone at this site had reviewed them and enjoyed it. Naturally, I browsed TOTD to check in, searched for the band, and found that person was, wait for it… me. I enjoyed the show and was sent the promo not long after for Chasing Euphoria. Since it wasn’t to come out until March, I put it on the back burner behind other reviews. Fast forward slightly and cue me saying; “Oh, shit. It’s February!”

Luckily, Chasing Euphoria doesn’t come out until mid-March, so there’s time. However, this should come out before then so you can pre-order it. Lutharo doesn’t change their melodic death metal approach one bit, but the songs are even better than the debut.  Take for example “Ruthless Bloodline.” It does follow the screamed verse, sung chorus formula, but that’s not uncommon. What matters is that the chorus is quite catchy. The quick solo sections serve to make the track better.

The next track strays slightly from that formula with the first section being singing. It also takes 2 minutes for the main hook. In a song that’s only 4 ½ minutes, that’s significant, but it still shows up multiple times. With less than a minute, it’s only vocals and strings, so you get to hear them essentially isolated. Slight tweaks in the formula make this one stand out as perhaps the best track.

Of course, I wouldn’t be doing what I consider justice to the album if I didn’t mention the title track, so let’s skip ahead. You will not be surprised to hear it does fit the songwriting formula. On display throughout. As mentioned earlier, it’s all based on whether you like the formula and the vocals. No metal is what I would call “radio ready,” but if that was a thing, every track would have the label.

Onward to the final track, “Freedom of the Night, which is nearly seven minutes and begins with some isolated bass before the guitars and everything else starts.  Halfway through, we get some isolated bass, then what I would call a classical guitar lead. I was going to say there wasn’t anything fast or flashy, but then a solo in that fashion takes over. The background strings add to the “finality” of it all, as well as the ending section with just bass and vocals.

After this, I must admit the album is not perfect. It does have flaws, but only a few. Perhaps it’s a little long, but 48 minutes is not egregious. It’s also the same formula all the time. That applies to their first album as well. However, they have a certain youthful energy, which propels them on their albums, as well as in the live setting. Their first album was quite good, and the new one is a step up. I am purchasing it and believe it will be in heavy rotation this year.

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