{"id":492830,"date":"2026-03-24T15:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T15:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/492830\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T15:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T15:44:09","slug":"moon-far-away-acou-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/492830\/","title":{"rendered":"Moon Far Away – Acou Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"As a fledgling metalhead in the 90s and early 2000s, I spent many a day scouring my local record shop for new, interesting bands and artists due to magazine interviews, reviews, and the occasional word-of-mouth treatment from friends and artists alike. This adventurous time period was responsible for my dalliances and appreciation of the world of neofolk. Between the somber atmospheres of Tenhi and the thriving, teeming music of the late Nebelhex\u00eb, it opened up new avenues to explore and bands to check out. With this in mind, I decided to tackle Acou, the fifth album from Russian quartet Moon Far Away, only to realize that they\u2019ve been around since 1994 and this is the first time hearing about (or anything from) them.<\/p>\n

Well, at least I got to finally experience their music, as Acou is a fairly enjoyable album with some interesting angles. After a brief interlude, featuring a lone trumpet and some ambient chantings and melodies, the title track kicks off in earnest, showcasing just why Moon Far Away have earned the reputation as \u201cThe Russian Dead Can Dance\u201d as the vocal harmonies of multi-instrumentalist Count Ash and his counterpart (and song lead) Leda intertwine during the chorus over a playful bassline from Zhigich and some driving percussion by Victorion, creating a rapturous atmosphere that also plays homage to their Russian roots. Elsewhere, \u201cSteel Light Love\u201d shows off their more Gothic leanings, with Count Ash taking the lead with Leda softly wailing in the background throughout the song\u2019s majority. On these three songs, the band\u2019s artistic strengths shine brilliantly, giving off the impression that this is a neofolk classic for the ages.<\/p>\n

\ufeffAcou by Moon far away<\/a><\/p>\n

The problem is that there are other songs on here, and some of them pull the proceedings down quite a bit. \u201c17 Years\u201d features an older vocalist chant-singing partially off-key for over three minutes. Speaking of off-key, Count Ash\u2019s voice on \u201cLook, the Human Flocks\u2026\u201d keeps to a monotone, often at odds with Leda\u2019s angelic vocals, and the song ends without building up to anything. But the biggest issue lies with \u201cSoulofkey,\u201d which starts off promisingly enough, with a haunting piano melody that burrows into your skull. Still, it keeps burrowing, because other than a few key changes, it just keeps going and going and going for the entirety of the song\u2019s seven-minute runtime, losing all potency and interest.<\/p>\n

\"\"
At least Acou sounds great from a production standpoint. Zhigich\u2019s bass is thick and meaty, and Victorion\u2019s percussion hits with the impact his performances need. Even the traditional instruments, such as the flute and trumpet, all ring with a stark clarity that\u2019s sometimes missing from neofolk music. I just wish the arrangements and performances were a bit tighter overall, because when Acou shines, it\u2019s with a brilliance that few can match, and that\u2019s no mean feat.<\/p>\n

And that kills me, as I wanted to like Acou more than I do. When everyone\u2019s on top of their game, Acou is a compelling album that\u2019s teeming with life and vibrancy. But the hiccups on some of the tracks keep my enjoyment tempered, and that\u2019s a shame because Moon Far Away impressed me on their best tracks, and they are giving me a new band to check out in the future. That said, there\u2019s still plenty to like on here, and if you enjoy any of the bands I mentioned above, you could do much worse than what\u2019s on offer here.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Rating: 3.0\/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Prophecy Productions<\/a>
Websites: Bandcamp<\/a> | Facebook<\/a>
Release Dates: EU: 2026.03.13 | NA: 03.27.2026<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a fledgling metalhead in the 90s and early 2000s, I spent many a day scouring my local…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[47816,6446,173947,173948,113109,96,164888,173949,128,173950,113111,173951,263,129,165752,173952,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-492830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-47816","tag-3-0","tag-acou","tag-dark-neofolk","tag-dead-can-dance","tag-entertainment","tag-mar26","tag-moon-far-away","tag-music","tag-nebelhexe","tag-not-metal","tag-prophecy-productions","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-russian-metal","tag-tenhi","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}