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.

Lantlos – Melting Sun (2014)

I recently revisited one of my favorite albums of all time. Usually, when I give an album that unique title, it is an album I know everything about:

An album I know every lyric, melodic, guitar more, drum beat.

But as I re-listened to this one, I realized that I was far from being that way with this one. So how had I given it that title, when in comparison to other favorites, I knew so little about it? Was I just enamored with the idea of it? Or is there true beauty to be discovered in a listen from start to finish.

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Let’s break it down.

Lantlos is a project by Markus Seigenhort. It is most known for the involvement of Neige from Alcest on the albums .Neon and Agape. Even before those albums, Lantlos was already engrained in the blackgaze (black metal meets shoegaze) sound that we were hearing from Alcest, Les Discrets, Deafheaven, as well as others. But with Neige, those albums created an unusual mix.

Blending clean vocals, shrieks, and the closest thing to growls Neige has ever done, it combined elements of shoegaze, doom metal, black metal, and even jazz, with its gorgeous soft moments before crushingly heavy riffs and drums drowning in reverb. It was a magical match, which makes the dissolution of it all the more curious.

For the next album, Markus was inspired by Neige’s performances to handle the vocals all on his own. In probably the nicest breakup letter ever written, he thanked his friend, and told him his services would not be required for the style of music he was writing. A style of music that had more in common with Smashing Pumpkins than the doom and gloom of the previous releases.

Like Sunbather by Deafheaven, the album cover is a dead giveaway that we’re not in store for something malicious. The bright pink album cover has very little to do with metal, and it’s track listing “Melting Sun Parts I – VI” makes you think you’re holding a Prog album in your hands. Each song also relates to a color, except for the lone instrumental subtitled “Oneironaut”, which a simple Google search defined as “one with the ability to travel within a dream on a conscious basis”.

How fitting for an album that can only be described as “dreamlike”.

From to opening notes of “Part 1: Azure Chimes”, we are caught off-guard to the upcoming elation that hits us like a ton of bricks when the full band comes in. Heavy, but not dark. Intense, but still beautiful. Taking the best influence that bands like Slowdive and My Bloody Valentine have to offer, it builds at a mid-tempo pace that immediately gets the listener lost.

And that’s exactly where the album wants to keep you. This is why you might not be able to remember every note. You’re not thinking about the music. You’re not analyzing it. You’re simply enjoying it, and it might feel like a long time since an album has had that effect on you.

The vocals come in just shy of 2 minutes in, with a memorable vocal melody. The lyrics are simple, but it is the relationship between the vocals and instruments that captivates you. Heavy reverb, and a mix where the vocals are almost buried but appear just enough, it is calm and soothing, something so unique when distortion is in play.

The lyrics are short, and go by quick:

“I take the azure ladder into the sun colored haze”.

It’s chorus, repeated just two times, is just two words, and still somehow infectious:

“Numb Me”.

After a second verse and a second chorus, we have an extended outro with a heavy riffs that could have been on a djent album. Yet in the context, it is not out of place. It doesn’t sound cliche. It evokes headbanging, but works after all the previous build up.

The second song, “Cherry Quartz” is the longest on the album at 9 minutes and 41 seconds. It follows a similar formula. Quiet in the beginning, full band comes in, and jam on emotional shoegaze riffs. It hints at the quiet jazzy parts found on their precious two albums. The vocals finally come in 5 and a half minutes in. It is more nostalgic than the first song. A hint of sadness, a hint of longing, and an epic outro after the third verse.

“Aquamarine Towers” almost starts with a drone element, and when the band comes in, Markus sings two lines twice:

“I’ve seen you. I’ve been through the sun”.

The rest of the song is instrumental, and continues to lull you into a false sense of security. The drums and guitar play off each other and there’s an excellent bass groove where the drums feel very free on top of it. Moments like these are sprinkled throughout the album and take multiple listens for full appreciation of the musicianship as well as the composition.

“Jade Fields” is slightly deceptive, with its full blown upfront mix after the soft intro. But the vocals return to the harmonious melodies that we saw in the first song. He sings:

“Let me go, let me go. Don’t feel sorry”.

It fades out into a short instrumental interlude, which builds into the guitar notes of the final song, providing a brief rest while also contributing to the atmosphere of the album.

“Golden Mind” ends the album on a lush and gorgeous ballad, with soft drums, spacious chords, and a great vocal performance. It sends the listener off to an almost dreamlike place, after the highs and lows they have previously encountered.

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So is the album as good as I remember it?

The short answer, yes… yes it is.

This album is so filled with beauty. It is a delicate album that has so much power when it wants to. It is a full mix, where the soaked in reverb effect doesn’t drown it. You can still make out every note. And while the vocals are pushed too far back for some people’s tastes, I can’t complain about it.

The 6 song, 40 minute structure works to its advantage. It is compact, but it is also a unique mood. It is a one of a kind look and feel album. The artwork is so tied into it that it makes the music seem tangible, if that makes any sense.

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I also have to point out the similarities in my mind of an album released by his former band mate Neige. In 2010 (4 years earlier), Alcest released their second album Ecailles de Lune. While look, feel, and sound wise, those albums are almost night and day of each other, it is their structure that triggers something in my mind. 6 songs long, with Ecailles de Lune being exactly 50 seconds longer (40 minutes 39 seconds against 41 minutes and 29 seconds).

As opposed to Melting Sun’s 6 part format, only two songs on Ecailles de Lune are multi-part. The first two songs on the album make up the title track. They contrast greatly, as part 1 shows the beauty of the album, and part 2 shows the dark and heavy side with screams. And even though Melting Sun has no screams, “Azure Chimes” and “Cherry Quartz” work similarly for Lantlos, showing the albums beauty before taking a more questioning approach on its second track.

“Aquamarine Towers” is kind of the odd song on the album with its two lines of lyrics, and Neige took chances with his 3rd track as well, as “Percées de lumière” is one of the heavier and more riff based Alcest songs. both albums contain a short drone like instrumental (“Oneironaut” and “Abysses”), and both albums second to last actual song are the lightest, prettiest, and most uplifting songs on the album (“Jade Fields” and “Solar Song”), though I acknowledge that those roles are reversed on each release:

And finally, both albums end on the “ballad of the album”, the lush and gorgeous compositions that best showcase each singers ability to strip down and let their vocals take the spotlight for a change.

So while it’s not the most direct comparison, and I’m not accusing anyone of plagiarism or anything like that, I still find it interesting how Markus may have learned something from his old friend Neige on how to put an album together, so that it flows well and leaves a lasting and memorable impression.

Either way, these are both incredible albums. Ones you can listen to over and over again and continue to find new appreciation in the compositions, structure, and layering.

“Dark Side of the Moon” (Album Cover)

Hey is the Soundcloud link to a performance by my band Aeonic Impulse of Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd in its entirety.

The show was done in early December of 2011, as part of my 21st birthday celebration. The performance was done in front of family and friends, and was recorded live by our good friend Kimo (Shooky Darshun).

This was the original Aeonic Impulse lineup, and was very early on in our stages of being a band. The recording and performance are a little rough, so we consider it a Demo. However, there are a lot of good things going on here and I’m still proud of the performance.

We also threw in some covers of other songs by Pink Floyd as encores so that it would be a full set.

Hope you enjoy it! =)