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Fame has come in fits and starts for Swiss Symphonic Metallers Lunatica, and while that could be greatly attributed to the dense quagmire of meaningless facsimiles their genre is currently bogged down in, it can also be regarded as a result of the band's staunch determination to constantly progress, maintaining a shred of integrity in a business that requires you to give it up as soon as your foot's in the door. Following the gothic Edge of Infinity, New Shores is just that for the band, and with songs like "The Incredibles" and the immeasurably catchy "Two Dreamers", it looks like they are closer to reaching them than ever before.

While the symphonics have been somewhat reduced in favor of more commercial trappings, New Shores churns and spits out the likes of Nightwish and Epica with its grand focus on melody, making good use of the band's secret weapon, operatic naiad Andrea Datwyler, whose sweet, heavenly wail caresses every track with soft, silken fingers. Focusing their attentions perhaps on a more wide-ranging conception, Lunatica have taken the forceful approach of their previous three records and spread it evenly throughout their latest excursion, making New Shores undoubtedly their most mature and lucid release to date.

Things are a tad formulaic in places – possibly due to the band's penchant for sticking Datwyler in the foreground, leaving her vocals to do the talking instead of the instrumentation – but with tracks such as the Sirenia-esque "The Chosen Ones" and the synth-drenched "The Day The Falcon Dies", Lunatica have something rather special on their hands here, and while their progressive sights aren't set too wide at the moment, only the future knows how far they will widen the scope.