Cult of Luna -
Vertikal (2013)
In a way I kind of feel sorry for Cult of Luna, they've always been one of those second tier post-metal/atmospheric sludge metal bands, building their own niche in the genre but still living in the shadow of ISIS and Neurosis. Now that ISIS is gone and Neurosis has largely abandoned that style they have the opportunity to pick up the flag and charge into battle to really cement their status.... and they just kind of flounder around on this album. It's not really bad, but there's nothing particularly memorable except the things that make it annoying. Their inclusion of electronic elements seems well intentioned but poorly implemented and those parts are probably the most generic parts of the album. Maybe this is a grower, but at 67 minutes in length it's one of those albums that just doesn't really want to make you go back.
Here's hoping Rosetta or The Ocean have something new up their sleeves this year, or else I may have to just write this genre off, because there's really been nothing of interest released in the last few years.