Cult of Luna – The Long Road North (2022)

Cult of Luna by the time of this release had already established themselves as one of the “big three” of Post Metal alongside legendary bands Isis and Neurosis. They are known for their consistency and forward thinking approach. For me, they had already been a part of two of my favorite albums of all time, with Vertikal and Mariner (alongside American vocalist Julie Christmas). But their previous albums were no slouch either.

Following those two albums couldn’t have been easy, and I may have been tough on reviewing the follow up, 2019’s A Dawn to Fear and the companion EP, 2021’s The Raging River, which both did grow on me with repeated listens. But sometimes the biggest problem with ambient types of music is that it can get lost in the ambience, and forget about the song at its core. This is not the case with the shorter songs with clean vocals the band has every release for some time now, but some of the longer songs that have great riffs, but ultimately sound very similar.

Following quickly after those two releases, I hoped that this one would have a little more diversity, and while that’s not exactly what I found, I did connect with it a bit faster than with the previous two releases.

First and foremost, the album name, track listing, and album art are quintessential Cult of Luna atmosphere, so much so that you can’t believe it already hadn’t happened. For a band who has traveled musically and lyrically through countryside, cities, and even space, a journey through snow and barren lands is the perfect setting for their cold, dark, moody feel.

“Cold Burn” opens the album much like “The Silent Man” did for A Dawn to Fear and “Three Bridges” for The Raging River. It’s a driving song with brief melodic moments. But what they brilliantly do here is lull you into a false sense of security. When “The Silver Arc” comes in right after with a similar sense of urgency, you think it’s gonna be more of the same. But when it’s beautiful droning middle section complete with a bright bass tone you would hear on a record by The Cure or Tool appears, it hypnotizes you.

“Beyond I” the first surprise of the album comes at the perfect time. I shouldn’t say surprise since soft songs on their album are becoming expected, as well as guest vocalists, but they are what I look forward to since they provide so much needed contrast. Mariam Wallentin’s voice is haunting on this keyboard driven track with no drums. It reminds me of AA Williams, especially on her split with Mono. The band intelligently follow this up with the slow building “An Offering to the Wind”. With the tension and atmosphere of a Western film, the flow of the album starts to take shape, with its peaks and valleys mimicking the very landscape it describes.

After it’s epic climax, the album brings itself down again with the ballad “Into the Night”. Whereas “Beyond I” was more electronic and industrial driven, this one continues the country and western feel the band started on the previous track. It starts slow and brooding, building half way in to a full band ballad, with very unusual chord progressions. It reminds me of Radiohead almost, due to a mellotron keyboard tone, and a crooning vocal style. It is a different style for the band. Very ambient, and it shows their continued confidence in the variety of clean vocals. And while the sporadic appearances on these track listings don’t signify a complete change, this middle dip of forward thinking songs bookended by the heavier, driving tracks is what gives this album its wonderful and consistent flow.

Continuing with this thought process, the band does not just randomly pick it back up with immediate heaviness and urgency. They slowly build it up once more time with the short instrumental “Full Moon”, a beautiful blend of the country and western feel of the last two songs, with the electronic/industrial keyboard heavy tones of “Beyond I” all mixed together. The subtle changes of tone yet constant flashbacks to past themes gives this album cohesion, and flows perfect into “The Long Road Home”, which starts with some incredible slide guitar work.

Eventually the title track brings that intensity felt on the first two songs. The band really take their time on this album, in the best possible way. The title track is filled with fantastic dynamics and the production really shines on this one as you hear layering that simultaneously make you think of the cityscapes of Vertikal, the space of Mariner, and the countryside of Somewhere Along the Highway. Aside from obvious post metal references, bands and projects like Agalloch, NIN, Author and Punisher also come to mind.

“Blood Upon the Stone” the last real song and second longest song, acts as an epic closer, and doesn’t take as long as “An Offering to the Wild” to get going. Using the momentum from the previous track, it gets right into it. The extended middle section with delayed guitars, consistent drumming and subtle keyboard tones turns into an explosion of dissonant and post rock goodness. The vocals return over a repeated melody a builds to an incredible climax worthy of finishing off this group of songs. But Cult of Luna don’t leave you hanging.

The album officially closes with “Beyond II”, which is an ambient piece of drone, classical, and industrial, all mixed together. It was created alongside Colin Stetson who also helped provide soundscapes on “An Offering to the Wild”. Normally I’m not the biggest fan of instrumental ambient noise closing out an album. But after such a massive track and complete journey, I can see the need for it here. It eventually fades out, and leaves you ready to re-experience it all.

It’s always hard for a band to live up to a fan favorite. And while Cult of Luna might be in the fortunate position to not have one distinct one, they have certainly created a mountain for themselves to climb over on each new release. But the band gives off the impression that they don’t care… in the sense that they have nothing to prove, and aren’t making albums for anyone in particular. They do what they want to. Some aspects of that are new, some are what they do best. But they’re not going to completely change over night for new fans, nor are they going to stay the same for the old ones. And each new release has something new to give, but it will always sound like Cult of Luna. It’s up to you how much you want to invest in finding the differences. But don’t expect to write it off entirely as just another new album by them.

Fates Warning – Long Day Good Night (2020)

Fates Warning are the unsung heroes of the progressive metal genre. Never reaching the mainstream appeal of their peers such as Queensryche or even Dream Theater, despite being just as influential, they have continued throughout the years, releasing great album after great album.

With the announcement of a new album, we knew it would be no different. Even before their hiatus they had already adjusted with the times, and incorporated many modern elements to their 80s Prog sound. This was in part of the influence of Kevin Moore adding electronic keyboard elements, but is also a testament to their lineup,which has been a part of many other projects and find a way to bring all of those styles together in a cohesive sound. Despite the changes, it’s all still Fates Warning, and the fans wouldn’t want it any other way.

Long Day Good Night is their 13th release. It is 13 songs long, and if you add all the numbers in its length together (72:22 – 7+2+2+2) you get…… well you get the idea. It continues very much in the style of their last few albums. Combining heavy modern sounding riffs, big catchy, anthemic choruses, some electronic elements, at least a ballad, and at least one long song. And this formula works, because it showcases all the different sides of the band. The band even stated that was their particular goal for it.

Lyrically, it all deals with the idea of “home” which is very fitting for the state of the world that we are currently living in. During this Coronavirus Lockdown of 2020, we have spent more time at home than we ever have before, and the idea of the word changes. For bands, maybe home is being back on stage. Maybe the isolation means that home is just being back with your friends. Either way, this is the 2nd album in a row that I’ve reviewed that feels like it has been directly influenced by the quarantine, as Islands by The Flower Kings was as well.

Even the cover works on two fronts. Yes it fits the title and theme, but it also acts as a “return to home“ in the sense that it is their first album back with Metal Blade since FWX in 2004, and bears a striking resemblance to the cover for that one.

Musically, it takes a minute for the first track, “The Destination Onward” to get going, but once it does, it is followed by an excellent build up. The drums, guitars, and vocals are mixed beautifully and it gets you very excited about what’s to come. About 3 minutes in is where it really picks up and it keeps this heavy upbeat pace for the next 5 minutes. It is one of three long songs on the album, and showcases the bands technically, groove, and ability to write a memorable chorus. I can imagine them playing it live and everyone is singing along to the “I gave everything I had” lyric. Plus, it has one of the best guitar solos on the album.

Now if the first song showed glimpses of heavy with its start stop riff during the verses, the next two songs continue that and take it even further. “Shuttered World” might be one of the heaviest songs the band has ever done, in a groove that reminds me of the band Nevermore. This is counter-balanced with another melodic chorus that makes it an album standout. These first two songs will be fan favorites.

“Alone We Walk” closes out the opening heavy trio with a classic Fates Warning sound superimposed over a down tuned guitar riff. Less memorable than the first two, but still with its share of great lyrics and harmonies. This trio of songs starts the album off so strongly that you’d swear this was their best album so far!

But the problem is, there’s still a long way to go! So the band knows they have to change it up a bit. The next trio of songs is more focused on the softer ballad like moments. “Now Comes the Rain” sees the band doing their best Queensryche impression. No, it’s not a blatant rip-off, but it is a nostalgic late 80s early 90s sound that reminds me of classics like “Another Rainy Night” and “I Don’t Believe in Love”. A welcome change of pace to the album.

“The Way Home” starts off like a beautiful ballad, and makes you think you’re getting another song like “Pleasant Shade of Gray Part IX”, but then switches up to a more progressive second half, much like they did with “The Eleventh Hour” from Parallels. Unfortunately, the second half isn’t as memorable as its first and might have worked better as two separate songs. But maybe it needs a few more spins.

*Edit* it has grown on me with more spins!

The heavy section is important though cause it breaks up the previous ballads with another beautiful ballad, this time complete with actual string instruments. “Under the Sun” reminds me of 80s ballads that you would hear from pop bands or alternative rock bands, not necessarily just from metal bands. It is very emotional and can become quite the ear worm for the listener.

The next section of the album seems to be where it starts to lose some listeners. With the trio of heavy and trio of ballads, we get four classic heavy metal songs in a row, split up by one electronic influenced song. With the bands technicality and emotion leading the way, it seems kind of a step back to just do catchy heavy metal songs. But, as the band stated, there’s something for everyone on here. So let’s get through them.

“Scars” was the first single so many of us Fates fans had already heard it. It still holds up with its placement in the album. It is the classic Fates sound we’ve come to expect from their last couple of albums and holds well against tunes like “Pieces of Me”, “Simple Human”, and “White Flag”.

“Begin Again” starts off with a bluesy sounding riff. It’s got a decent pre-chorus and chorus, with hints of Tool and Porcupine Tree, but not the same melodic memorability as previous songs. The most unique section is the off time counter melodies right before the guitar solo, which I’m still not really a fan of.

“When Snow Falls” breaks up to sequence of heavy songs with one of the albums highlight performances. Sounding like an OSI song with Ray Alder on vocals, Gavin Harrison’s drumming fits in perfectly. The tones are brilliant as are the uses of effects such as delay. I always love when Fates steps into this territory and wish we got to see it more (either that or we just need another OSI album soon. Jim and Kevin I’m talking to you!).

But the album goes back to its comfort zone with the song “Liar”. In most of the reviews I’ve seen, people point out its length as its biggest weakness. They say that this track or “Begin Again” (or both) could have been cut and it would have been a more enjoyable experience. I agree, but it also depends on how you listen to it. In one sitting, yes it’s too much. But individually every song is good. So if you need a long album in the car or these songs are on shuffle in a playlist, you don’t mind them as much as you do all at once.

Either way, “Liar” has its moments and “Glass House” is a shorter more straightforward song with probably the catchiest chorus since “Scars” so it’s just enough before we get to the meat and potatoes of the album. “The Longest Shadow of the Day” (also the longest song of the record) is 11:30 seconds.

The majority of it comes from its extended intro where we get jazz style guitar licks, excellent bass solos, and shred guitar solos, while Bobby on drums and Joey and bass do what they do best and hold it all together. Once you get to the vocals, it is actually a pretty simple and straightforward song, with just a few verse and repeated lines. Still, one of the bands best moments in a long time.

The album finishes with the classical inspired ballad, aptly titled, “The Last Song”. This lulls the listener out after the technical mastery and showmanship of the previous tune, and leaves fans of the band hoping that they don’t mean the last one forever.

All in all, this album has me scratching my head where I would place it in my favorites by the band. There is a ton of great material on it. And the only thing it has going against it is it’s length. There’s not a bad song on it, but there are better songs on it than others. And because if that, the band does have better “put-together” albums. Still, it’s not gonna leave any fans upset at its existence. There’s more than enough material to hold people over, plenty of songs are gonna be great live, and everyone will have their own unique favorite song from the album.

It will hold well for many years to come. It doesn’t over take the spot of my favorite by the band (“Darkness in a Different Light”), but halfway through, I really thought it would. Definitely a contender for album of the year, and a must check out for any fan of metal and Prog, whether old or new.

2015 Album Review #8

Lonely Robot – Please Come Home – 9.0/10

(Review originally posted in Nocturnal Hall Magazine. Link to the original can be found here: http://www.nocturnalhall.com/reviews/L/lonelyrobot_home_e.html)

– LONELY ROBOT is a project created by singer, guitarist, and producer John Mitchell. John is most famous for playing in progressive rock bands such as It Bites, Frost*, Kino, and Arena. Even though he wrote the music, lyrics, and produced this album, he has decided to avoid calling it his debut solo release. This is because the album also contains a list of established guest musicians, such as Peter Cox from Go West, singer/songwriter Nik Kershaw, Steve Hogarth from Marillion, singer/songwriter Heather Findlay, Kim Seviour from Touchstone, and Jem Godfrey from Frost*. In addition to that, he has Nick Beggs and Craig Blundell (who are both currently getting a lot of attention for their work with Steven Wilson) providing the bass and drums respectively for all the tracks. If that wasn’t enough, he also has British actor Lee Ingleby (famous for his roles in Harry Potterand Master And Commander) providing narration throughout the album. The album is a concept album that deals with science fiction themes as well as focusing on the evolution of the human race. While there are traces of moments that sound like the other bands that John has been involved in, it is something completely his own. It is progressive and has moments of technicality, but has an overall more ambient approach. Through the airy production as well as use of sound effects throughout the album,John is able to constantly bring about the science fiction concept without having it go overboard or take hold of the album. Similarly, he is able to demonstrate his excellent songwriting and musicianship. The album starts with an instrumental before going into God vs. Man, a song full of lots of catchy hooks. Why Do We Stay is an incredibly beautiful ballad and duet, utilizing the female vocals to create the nostalgia of leaving someone behind. This technique returns in the much more upbeatOubilette. The album’s longest song, Lonely Robot, demonstrates John’s skill with guitar, in the form of a beautifully constructed classical sounding solo. The album runs a bit long, but it is definitely a journey worth taking. As a fan of John, I was very excited to hear about this release. However, I was not expecting it to be this good! One of the biggest surprises of 2015 so far, and a must have for any fans of prog rock.

Pain of Salvation – Falling Home

– 8/10

-Admittedly, I thought this was going to score lower, like the Junius EP or the new Wolves in the Throne Room album did. After 3 years without music, an album of previous songs was the last thing I wanted to hear about. However; We are talking about Pain of Salvation, a band that has been able to reinvent themselves over and over again (although most people would rather call them The Daniel Show since he has been the only consistent member for the band’s 20+ years). From the get go, we can tell this is going to be an interesting endeavor, with a very jazzy rendition of “Stress” from their first album. Throughout the album, the vocals are the high point over the musicianship, and this is not at all a bad thing. I consider Daniel one of the best singers with a wide range and emotional depth. On this album, the backup vocals and lush harmonies have the ability to hold their own on renditions of “Linoleum” and “To the Shoreline”. Track 4 brings us a smooth jazz/reggae version of the heavy metal classic “Holy Diver”, which might offend a heavy metal fan, but is done very tongue in check and makes for an enjoyable listen. The second half of the album was more surprising to me, since songs like “1979” seemed to stay very true to the original and “Chain Sling” has already been done acoustically on 12:5. The second half was full of songs from Scarsick which is one of my favorite albums by them, even though most Pain of Salvation fans do not feel the same way. I really enjoyed hearing acoustic renditions of songs like “Spitfall”, “Flame to the Moth”, and “Mrs. Modern Mother Mary”. In addition to this, the album also has a cover of “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed (I have never considered myself a Lou Reed fan, but I’ve always considered this one of his better songs) and the album ends with the only new song on the album, titled “Falling Home”. All in all, this turns out to be an enjoyable experience and I was very pleased with the outcome. However, I still anxiously await to see what direction Pain of Salvation has up their sleeve after so many musical changes (especially after the two Road Salt album which had a more classic rock feel than metal).