For the most part, a bands debut record, regardless of its format, is one of their weakest. The vast majority of bands haven't had the time to establish their own unique sound within their given genre, and many debut efforts are, unfortunately, generic or average at best, with the band in question not getting to grips with their own musical style and approach until one of the following releases. Glasgow based LUNAR MANTRA are one of only a handful of bands that buck this trend and have managed to hit their stride immediately. Blending bestial Black Metal with monumental Ambient flourishes peppered in amongst this dark carnage, the three pieces debut EP, aptly named "Genesis", is one of the most impressive debut efforts from any band you're likely to hear this year, and shows plenty of promise and potential for music to come.

The albums opening, instrumental offering, "Ingress Thy Web Hast Spun", is a brilliantly eerie and dissonant piece of very atmospheric music that sets the tone for the record early on, creating a dark and foreboding atmosphere that persists throughout the record. The following track, the absolutely monolithic "Stellar Catacombs", sounds amazing from the first note to the last. With ethereal, powerful guitar hooks backed by ferocious drumming, this has a lot of great moments that solidify this track as a masterpiece in its own right. With avant-garde flourishes and deep chanted vocal lines, it's hard not to love this track. "Wealth Has Become the Shrine of Azazel", with its epic, ambience filled opening moments, quickly turns into an incredibly fierce sounding, chaotic slab of primal Black Metal fury. The thicker, speed-driven parts of this song are well counter-pointed with some more grandiose, impressive parts which makes this track sound varied and eclectic throughout its near eight and a half minute span. The EPs penultimate offering, "Xanthotic Madness", is every bit as anarchic and turbulent in its musical approach as the title suggests. Again, there's plenty of moments on this track that have a really airy, atmospheric quality to them, underpinning the unrelenting aggression of the rest of the music, and really beefing up the already substantial sound on here. "Ecstasy of Egression", the fifth and final track on this EP, is filled with booming ambience and deep, infectious chanting. Although it definitely lacks the savage and aggressive edge of the first few songs, it's nonetheless a great song to close this excellent record on.

As far as debuts go, this is a great record. The band have established a very strong sound and musical identity, and all of the music on this record sounds brilliant from the first note to the last. With music this good, and the band already talking about a new release, entitled "Labyrinth of a Thousand Flames", it's clear that this is definitely one of the bands to watch out for in the coming months.