1 	The Birth Of The Race 	7:40
2 	Blessed Be The Rain 	7:25
3 	Chalice Of Lunar Blood 	8:48
4 	Nocturnal Dithyramb	6:42
5 	Ecstasy And Terror 	9:19
6 	Upwards To Conquer Heaven 	6:50

Bass [Low Frequency Sonic Terror] – Jackie
Drums [Thunderdrums Of Doom] – Kriss
Flute [Magic Flutes Of Pan] – Marcin Rumiñski
Guitar [Six-stringed Sword Of Damocles] – Peter
Guitar [Tragic Guitar Serenade Of Raptures] – G'Ames
Synthesizer [Winged Misanthropic Symphonies] – U.Reck
Vocals [Guttural Violence & Ominous Incantations], Lyrics By [All Lyrical Madness] – Jaro.Slav
Vocals [Silken Angelic Choirs Of Passion] – Anna Wesolowska, Wizenna Nowotarska 

Lux Occulta (łac. ukryte światło) - polska grupa muzyczna wykonująca początkowo black metal, w późniejszym okresie działalności grupy wyraźne są wpływy takich gatunków muzycznych jak death metal, doom metal, gothic metal, thrash metal, trip hop oraz jazz. Wypadkową nazwą stylu grupy był awangardowy metal. Zespół powstał w 1994 roku w podkarpackiej miejscowości Dukla. Autorem większości muzyki był instrumentalista klawiszowiec Jerzy "U.reck" Głód, do tekstów lidera i wokalisty zespołu Jarosława "Jaro.Slava" Szubrychta.

Do 2001 roku zespół wydał dobrze przyjęte przez krytyków cztery albumy studyjne. W 2002 roku grupa zawiesiła działalność w związku z problemami wydawniczymi oraz znikomą promocją wydanego nakładem Maquiavel Music Enterteiment rok wcześniej albumu The Mother and the Enemy. ---rock-metal-forum.pun.pl

If Lux Occulta is famous for anything (other than having two Decapitated members in their line-up for a few years), it's for the fact that they never released the same album twice. Over the course of just four albums they evolved from primitive black doom to pop-influenced avantgarde half-metal. Sounds a bit much, doesn't it? Believe it or not, the transition wasn't nearly as awkward as it may seem, and 'Dionysos', their sophomore full-length from 1997, was an integral part of the change.

To tell you the truth, I at first expected this album to be a shameless Cradle of Filth clone simply because of what it looks like. Seriously, the artwork, lyrics, even the fonts used in the CD inlay all point to that direction. And there is a similarity: this is melodic, half-symphonic black metal with epic songwriting and an emphasis on almost naively simple keyboard and guitar patterns that will stick in your head instantly. The rhythms are very straightforward, most of the time not particularly fast, and the music is easy to absorb adequately even at first listen – or so you might think.

However, given some more time, new and different sides begin to show themselves. Without being at all technical in terms of what individual band members do, the songs have an underlying progressive nature to them – the structures may seem random at first, but have a sense of “flow” that makes even the most drastic turns feel very natural. The apparent simplicity is in reality restricted to separate parts of songs, the entire tracks being often extremely complex musically. There are surprising little details all over the album that certainly cannot be appreciated or even noticed right away. The band also has an exceptionally stylistic keyboard player, who takes the main role here. Although simple, his parts give the album an air of sophistication very rarely heard anywhere. The other musicians perform well enough but remain almost unnoticed most of the time – which of course doesn't say anything about what they play; the guitar arrangements are beautifully done and quite varied for the genre, and even the bass has a few nice moments.

There is really only one thing I don't particularly like about this, and that is the vocal performance. Jaro.Slav's mid-range scream sounds forced and too raw (in a way) for music like this – I never would have thought I'd want harsh vocals to be more polished, but that's exactly what would be needed here. Even with some lengthy instrumental sections, the vocals are overpowering in the big picture and can't be overlooked. A better (or just different) vocalist would make this a near-perfect album.

As for the place of 'Dionysos' in Lux Occulta's discography, for its part it makes their musical development seem quite natural – this is the necessary link between their debut and the progressive black/death of third album 'My Guardian Anger'. If I could in any way assume that you, the reader, are familiar with those two albums but not this one, I could just as well simply describe this as a compromise between them and be done with it. To anyone who claims the band's musical development to be pseudo-artistic or indecisive, I say they're wrong and hold 'Dionysos' as evidence.

This album taught me a lesson: go in with unjustified prejudice and it will be extremely hard to notice anything that doesn't support it. Whenever I listen to this nowadays, I thank myself for giving that famous second chance. If there ever was an album that should not be dismissed upon first listen, we have one here. Heartily recommended for fans of atmospheric and musically challenging metal. ---differer, metal-archives.com

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1 	The Heresiarch 	6:26
2 	Kiss My Sword 	5:36
3 	Triangle 	1:08
4 	The Opening Of Eleventh Sephirah 	9:34
5 	Nude Sophia 	5:52
6 	Cube 	1:04
7 	Library On Fire 	7:10
8 	Mane-Tekel-Fares 	9:07
9 	Kiss My Sword (PC Video-Clip)

Bass Guitar – Sun (XVIIII)
Drums – Death (XIII)
Keyboards – Hermit (VIII)
Lead Guitar – Devil (XV)
Rhythm Guitar – Magician (I)
Viola – Magdalena Drozdowska, Maria Kowalkowska
Vocals – Dorota Szostak
Voice – Fool (0) 

Po przesłuchaniu poprzedniej płyty Lux Occulty stwierdziłem, że kupuję następna, bo będzie bardzo dobra. Nie myliłem się. Od "Dionizosa" wiele się zmieniło - pojawiło się dużo klawiszy, bardziej rozbudowane melodie i kobiece wokale. Uczyniło to "Światło ukryte" jednym z najbardziej wyróżniających się zespołów blackowych na świecie (choć to właściwie Occult Metal, jak twierdzi lider zespołu, bo ich teksty nie mają tematyki satanistycznej).

Na "My Guardian Anger" utworzono bardzo ciekawe kompozycje, w których kawałki grane na klawiszach i instrumentach smyczkowych, przeplatają się z szaleńczym tłuczeniem w perkusję i ochrypłym wokalem. Te instrumenty doskonale współgrają z agresywną (nie zawsze) grą gitar, tworząc coś niezwykłego i niepowtarzalnego. Lux Occulta wytworzyła swój styl. Jest jednym z trzech zespołów, które moim zdaniem uczyniły coś nowego i nieprzeciętnego w black metalem (pozostałe to Cradle Of Filth i Dimmu Borgir).

Na uwagę zasługuje też wkładka, która nie rozwija się tak jak inne, tylko ma formę książki. Znajdują się w niej teksty (na bardzo przyzwoitym poziomie) i zdjęcia muzyków. Zapowiadali oni, że tym razem będą zdjęcia i są, zapowiadali też, że będą niekonwencjonalne i... nie chcę psuć niespodzianki.

"My Guadian Anger" to płyta wybitna w swoim gatunku, aż duma rozpiera, że Lux Occulta to polski zespół. Polecam wszystkim lubiącym szybką, agresywną i niebanalną muzykę. ---Do diabła, rockmetal.pl

O zespole dowiedziałem się bodaj w 2001 roku oglądając relacje z Trash'em All Festiwal i jeśli dobrze pamiętam grali wtedy utwory pochodzące z dwóch poprzednich płyt. Co ciekawe, grając szeroko pojęty black metal, zespół nie stylizował się wizualnie na ogół kapel tego pokroju. Nie słyszałem też, by nad chłopakami unosiła się jakaś atmosfera tajemniczych mordów kotów sąsiadki Teresy czy innych tego typu ekscesów w stylu np. Mayhem. Ot, grali sobie swoje, właściwie bez większych "fajerwerków" Pewnie byłoby tak nadal w moim przekonaniu, gdyby nie mój znajomek, który wpadł do mnie pewnego dnia oznajmiając wymownie: "Kurwa! Ale to jest zajebiste!".

"My Guardian Anger" - coś, co opętało mnie na kilka tygodni, płyta chyba szczytowa dla Lux Occulty. Nie wiem czy doszukiwanie się w ich stylu wpływów zagranicznych zespołów ma jakikolwiek sens, bo jak na razie nie trafiłem na nic, co przypominałoby choć trochę klimat jaki panuje na "My Guardia Anger". Osiem utworów, osiem kompletnie szalonych, ale i przemyślanych do samego końca kompozycji. Mnogość zmian melodii, zmian tempa, wymiatające klawisze i wszystkie efekty z nimi związane sprawiają ze muzyka na płycie haczy o psychodelę. "Nude Sophia" "The Opening Of Eleventh..." z niesamowitą solówką, czy zagmatwane riffy w "Libary Of Fire" połączone chwilami z jazzowym stylem sprawiają, że nie można porównać Lux Occulty do żadnego innego zespołu. Z początku działalności można było doszukać się wpływów Satyricon, Emperor czy Cradle Of Filth, jednak tym razem "My Guardian Anger" staje naprzeciw naśladownictwa, manifestując głośno: "Oto Ja".

Dzieło doskonałe! Pozbawione wszelkich barier w tworzeniu, wykraczające ponad ogólnie przyjęte style. Ktoś nadał temu nazwę… Progressive Black jazz metal i nawet chcąc być obiektywnym, nie potrafię doczepić się do czegokolwiek na tej płycie. Obowiązek bez dwóch zdań! ---BarTolmai, darkplanet.pl

Honestly, this album is ridiculously underrated. Lux Occulta had plenty of releases before this, but My Guardian Anger is easily their best. In comparison with their previous albums, it's so good that it's a bit shocking. Lux Occulta's previous two albums and lone compilation are solid symphonic black metal works. They are nothing to be ashamed of, but nothing about those works struck me as truly exceptional. With My Guardian Anger, Vogg and Martin of Decapitated fame were added on guitar and bass. I guess adding these two guys to the lineup must have somehow really inspired the songwriting and playing because My Guardian Anger is simply on a completely different level.

Stylistically, it's not too different. My Guardian Anger is still more or less symphonic black metal. I'd personally argue there's some death metal influence this time around, but those are just small details. Nevertheless, this is completely unlike any other symphonic black metal album I've ever encountered. One of the things that set this album apart is the way the band melds together the symphonic elements and the metal. For starters, there are real violins and violas used here in addition to the keyboards. This is a major plus for me that most bands in this genre don't have. More importantly, the writing of the symphonic/classical elements is completely different from the norm. Lux Occulta's use of classical instruments gives the music a strong dance (in the classical sense of course) feel. At times, the music feels very similar to some of the various dances written by the classical masters.

I wouldn't really call this album technical or progressive in the usual sense, but it is definitely much more complex and a lot more challenging than the band's past works. The song structures tend to move away from verse-chorus, and nearly every song has multiple tempo changes and surprises. Immediately, the opening song, The Heresiarch, shows off this brilliant songwriting. This particular track is very nonlinear and develops all sorts of different riffs and melodic ideas. There's quite a few tempo changes, some usage of acoustic guitars, and excellent utilization of the strings throughout its runtime. Despite all of this variety, it never feels out of focus or incoherent. Every development happens naturally and of course, there's still loads and loads of good riffs to really sink your teeth into.

The Heresiarch is probably one of the more complex songs on the album, but the rest of it (minus the transitional instrumental tracks) is not too far off. Nothing is off-the-wall complex like some of the crazier technical metal outfits out there, but it's certainly not a cakewalk either. Throughout the entire album, the songwriting and instrumental playing is very nuanced and very detailed. The combination of the string section and the keyboards is used ingeniously to accent certain melodies, portray certain atmospheres, or even to signal an abrupt shift in the music. The guitar work is nothing short of breathtaking. Vogg and Peter rip through a variety of impressive rhythmic patterns and riffs. And of course, Vogg's guitar solos and leads are absolutely sublime.

One of most remarkable things about My Guardian Anger is how well it utilizes dynamics. Metal is a genre that is generally always loud, all the time. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. I love it when band play fast and loud just like any self-respecting metalhead. However, Lux Occulta manages to naturally insert many calmer, softer sections into their songs. This contrast isn't shoved in just for the sake of seeming sophisticated or something. No, these sections logically arise from the songwriting as a way to give listeners a breather, subvert expectations, and also highlight the intense parts where the band does go all out with the blast beats and the metal.

Although every song on here is more or less in the same style, they all are still quite different from each other. You never feel like the same ground is being tread twice thanks to the strong variety of material on display. You get the more accessible metal numbers (Kiss My Sword), the big epic (The Opening of the Eleventh Sephirah), the uplifting closer (Mane-Tekel-Fares), and so much more. I'm fond of every track, but I'd say I'd lean towards the opening song, The Heresiarch, and the more brutal number, Library on Fire as my favorites.

I'm not sure if this album will appeal much to your typical black metal fan. It's definitely strongly on the melodic side of the fence and is relatively polished for the genre. However, I could easily see fans of progressive and technical extreme metal styles digging this one. Regardless of where you stand, I still think this album is at least worth checking out. In this seemingly crowded niche of symphonic black metal, Lux Occulta found a way to create an album that's truly unique and exceptional. ---Dudemanguy, metal-archives.com

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