TheFolkslave

Cult of Luna






Cult of Luna is a Swedish sludge/post-metal band from Umeå.
Cult of Luna's early material was heavy doom/sludge metal but on their "breakthrough" album Salvation (2004) they changed their sound to more atmospheric and less aggressive taking influence from post-rock. The band is considered to be at the forefront of the post-metal genre, along with Neurosis and Isis.
Cult of Luna songs are often long, slow, repetitive and crushing, heavy sections of distorted guitars often interspersed with orchestral interludes and extended, post-rock-esque forays. Their songstructures usually rely more on crecendos and dynamic changes between heavier parts and calm parts istead of traditional verse-chorus-verse structure.
Six of the eight band members are vegetarians which can sometimes be seen in their lyrics which deal with the dangers of globalisation and political propaganda.
Somewhere Along the Highway (2006) is slightly different from the previous releases in its thematic basis. It focuses on personal matters, specifically male loneliness.
Their latest album Eternal Kingdom (2008) is based on a diary that the band members found from their rehersal space which used to be a mental institution. The diary of Holger Nilsson, a former inmate placed there after drowning his wife. The diary was titled 'Tales from the Eternal Kingdom'. In the diary, Nilsson blamed the death of his wife on the Näcken, a Swedish folk entity. The diary created a completely imagined world in which owl men and tree men all contributed to a fantasy story that explained why Nilsson was innocent of the crime. The band later released an audio book Eviga Riket (2010) based on the diary.

If you're a fan of Isis, Neurosis, Tool or post-rock/post-metal genre you definitely have to check them out!!!



Members:

Klas Rydberg – vocals
Johannes Persson – guitars, vocals
Erik Olofsson – guitars
Fredrik Kihlberg –guitar, vocals
Andreas Johansson – bass guitar
Anders Teglund – keyboards, samples
Thomas Hedlund – drums
Magnus Líndberg – drums




Discography:

Split with Switchblade (7") (2000)
Cult of Luna (2001)
Cult of Luna (EP) (2002)
The Beyond (2003)
Salvation (2004)
Somewhere Along the Highway (2006)
Eternal Kingdom (2008)
DVD Fire was Born (2009)
Audio book Eviga riket (2010)

Music:
YouTube - Cult of Luna - Adrift

YouTube - Cult of Luna - "Leave Me Here" Earache Records

YouTube - Cult Of Luna- Finland

YouTube - Cult of Luna - owlwood

Links:
Cult of Luna

Cult of Luna on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

__________________

TheFolkslave

This is one of my personal favorite bands. I love their albums and seeing them live was the best concert experience in my life. Do yourself a favor and give them a listen.

__________________

Engine

I consider them to be well behind Isis who, themselves, are chronologically pretty far behind Neurosis in the post-metal timeline.

I dunno. Maybe today they count as being 'in the forefront' of that sub-genre. I remember hearing Beyond and Salvation and thinking that I had never heard a more obvious rip-off of Isis (I know the same has been said about Isis regarding Neurosis) but I also enjoyed the hell out of both of those albums. I got their next one as soon as it came out and it didn't do much for me.

__________________

Like an arrow,
I was only passing through.

TheFolkslave

In my opinnion Salvation, Somewhere Along the Highway and Eternal Kingdom are the best ones and Somewhere Along the Highway is the best of the bunch. Sure Cult of Luna is behind Isis and Neurosis in the way those two are the generators of the whole genre but personally I enjoy Cult of Luna more than those two. After Oceanis and Panopticon Isis hasn't been so good but Neurosis and Cult of Luna have been really solid in my opinnion.

__________________

Thrice

I'm having trouble figuring where all the bands members play in. It sounds like a 3 piece to me.

__________________


Lew Harrison, who looked like an anarchist with his red eyes and fierce black beard, had been writing furiously in one corner of the room. "That's good—happiness by the kilowatt," he said. "Buy your happiness the way you buy light."

jackhammer

http://www.musicbanter.com/rock-meta...cult-luna.html

__________________

TheFolkslave

well IMO the three guitars and two drums is quite apparent in their music.

__________________

TheFolkslave

Didn't notice there already was a CoL thread. My bad :/

__________________

Engine

I'm the opposite. Of the 3 bands, Isis is the only one that's kept my interest. In fact, they're one of my favorite bands and one of few that I will never miss play live and always spend too much money on their music and other merch

I feel that Isis stayed more true to their underground sound. Currently, CoL seems to be too much post and not enough metal for me. But to be honest I haven't given them a fair shake since Highway

I didn't see much discussion of Cult of Luna on that one .. merge?

__________________

Like an arrow,
I was only passing through.

TheFolkslave

You should check out Eternal Kingdom. It is heavier than Salvation or Somewhere Along the Highway and a little less post-rock esque. But personaly I love the post-rock esque Cult of Luna and Isis because Im not a huge metal fan but love post-metal genre for the atmospheric stuff and sludge stuff.

With Isis I think that Wavering Radiant was perhaps better than In the Absence of Truth but it still doesn't come even close to Panopticon or Oceanic.
Neurosis on the otherhand has had good streak with A Sun that Never Sets, The Eye of Every Storm and Given to the Rising.

But seriously check out Eternal Kingdom it is a really good album.

__________________