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.

Evergrey – The Atlantic

Evergrey might be one of the most consistent metal bands on the planet. Which is why their 2019 release, The Atlantic, surprised me when it underwhelmed me in comparison to their previous 10 releases. But with a new Evergrey album soon to arrive in my mailbox any day now, I was inspired to revisit this release, and try to see if those feelings were rightfully so, or to see if I had softened my stance over time. Let us go back to a time before the pandemic.

Let us take another journey across The Atlantic.

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Evergrey is a wonderful blend of dark progressive metal, with gothic influences and pop tendencies. Their songs are not the most complicated even though they are certainly technical musicians, and songwriter Tom Englund does like to stay predominantly on his Iron Maiden influenced chord progressions (i VI VII for the music nerds) which give the majority of his melodies a sense of familiarity.

So what saves the band from growing stale? Their brutal honesty in their lyrics, Tom’s soulful vocal style, and their ability to continue finding catchy choruses.

The Atlantic came with some sad news. Tom and his wife Carina (who provided vocals to almost every album) had split up. And that shone a light on what Tom described as a trilogy, staring with Hymns For the Broken, through The Storm Within, and ending with this release. And while Evergrey’s lyrics always touched upon heartbreak and despair, the reoccurring themes were put in the spotlight on these specific releases.

Tom said he deliberately didn’t have any guest vocals on this album (the previous one saw Floor Jansen as well as Carina), as a sort of catharsis, proving he could move on by himself musically and personally. Similarly, the album is the heaviest one they have ever released, as a wave of emotions comes crashing down onto the listener.

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The album begins with a trio of songs that were released ahead of time as singles. These are also possibly the best three songs on the album, which is why initially the album didn’t feel as well put together as some of their past releases. Upon my first few listened, it felt like they gave up all its strengths too early, and the rest of the album just couldn’t keep up.

Opener “A Silent Arc” is a strong representation of the band. It introduces the nautical theme, their heavy chugging riffs, and melodic choruses. The hook is great, and so is the middle section that brings it down just a bit for emotional connection, while not losing its momentum. And upon knowing the subject matter that influenced the album, it’s impossible to not get emotional as Tom bitter-sweetly sings;

“Our heaven is dead. In search for a new horizon”.

The next track, “Weightless”, shows the Evergrey formula that has worked for them on so many albums. If the first song is the memorable single, song two is the groovy counterpart with pop tendencies. Even though it has that down-tuned metal tone, it still has one of the most memorable melodies on the album. The lyrics say:

“I’m weightless in the water, surrounded by the deep. I stare my past in its eyes to say
It’s over, it’s over my friend
I made a promise to myself that I
Would never falter, never fade so I
Could stare my past in its eyes
Over and over”.

It’s dark, ambient, but still heavy middle section also provide a necessary breather before the shred guitar solos.

And the third track, “All I Have”, takes the formula of “Weightless”, and almost perfects it with a slight heaviness to what could have easily been a ballad. The chorus is simple but effective, and would definitely become a fan favorite to sing along with.

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Now as promised, I think the album still does take a slight dip in quality from this point on, however, with more listens, I was able to find redeeming qualities for each remaining song.

I found that “A Secret Atlantis” provides a nostalgic element of Evergrey albums past. This is done with the lower register vocals during the prechorus. It also feels more thrashy than the modern elements on the other songs, harkening back to Torn, Glorious Collision, and Monday Morning Apocalypse. Plus, when was the last keyboard solo on an Evergrey album? And it’s chorus seems to just walk by, not dragging attention to itself, but still being memorable enough to sing along with:

“And I wanted to let you know, that I’m leaving to let this go. And the sky is painting my sorrow”.

“The Tidal” is a short keyboard driven instrumental with animal sounds. It’s purpose is to continue pushing the nautical theme and provide a quick breather after 4 heavy songs in a row. It goes straight into:

“End of Silence” which starts quickly. The guitar chug and keyboards feels very Dream Theater/Fates Warning. Everything drops out except for keys and vocals for the chorus. It has a dark middle section, with an unusual vocal melody and slight vocal effects before returning to the bitter-sweet sounding chorus. This one definitely grew on me after giving occasional chances to it.

“Currents” has all the elements of a standard Evergrey song, except for its slight off timing during the chorus. Without knowing much about time-signatures, it feels like it loses a half a beat, which might be the only thing exciting about it, but also might be a hinderance in that it makes it hard to enjoy headbanging to it cause of the slight change. The keys sound great in it, but it definitely feels like a song we’ve heard before.

Luckily, the album is saved but it’s most unique track, “Departure”. The bass sounds fantastic, and it’s got a goth influenced mid-tempo ballad feel to it. It’s got two really strong melodies to it, but also makes me wonder how it would have sound if they went straight ballad on it. I think a full on orchestral version actually would have benefited the album as a whole, providing stark contrast. Even so, it’s still a great song on its own and I wouldn’t mind seeing more like it in the future. And anytime Tom moves to a major key is greatly appreciated after albums full of minor key darkness only.

“The Beacon” is another one that grew on me as of recent. The old school sounding keyboard tone that we heard on Torn and Glorious Collision comes in and continues throughout the verses. The chorus is excellent, with Tom professing:

“I must find my beacon, to let what’s dead come back to life”.

It’s almost like a return to form for the album before the big finish comes in. “This Ocean” is one of the darkest and heaviest songs the band has written, and Thats thanks to its almost black metal like outro.

Tom sings:

“I’ve cried this ocean, and the tears that I’ve wept, shadow the apparent horizon”.

The song leaves the album on an almost uncertain note. Has he in fact found his beacon? Or has he gotten lost in his ocean?

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I still think it’s the most one dimensional Evergrey album. No true ballads, no guest vocals to provide any contrast, though the return of prevalent keyboards is a nice touch. It is a dark and heavy album which provides them many new options in the live show of headbangers in their new chosen down-tuned state, which is helpful when your older albums are different higher tunings, and can potentially limit the amount of guitar exchanges.

Though it still doesn’t reach the same heights for me as many in their discography, there’s no use complaining about new Evergrey. You know they’re consistent, so another one will be on the way shortly, and they’re one of those bands that you go in knowing what you’re gonna get. No huge changes from album to album, you can expect shredding, and Tom’s emotional vocals and lyrics to be at the forefront.

In addition, Tom released his Silent Skies debut album with keyboardist Vikram Shankar, his new band mate in Redemption. That album is all ballads, so if The Atlantic wasn’t for you, maybe that one is. Either way, as a fan of Evergrey, you have to be amazed at Tom’s strength in life, and his way of turning dark/hard times into beautiful music, and singing about them night after night. Despite how I may feel about the album, I’m sure it was the one he needed to make, and as a fan, that’s all that matters.

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We’ll see how on the next album, Tom will rise from the ashes on Escape of the Phoenix.

The Flower Kings – Islands (2020)

The Flower Kings have been a force in the progressive rock seen since 1994. That is the year that Roine Stolt, famous for his work in Swedish band Kaipa, put together a live band for his third solo album. The band released their debut album the following year. Over the years, the band has done about everything you can imagine a band influenced by 70s Prog rock to do:

Double albums, 20+ minute songs, 30+ minute songs, whole album length songs that flow together despite different tracks, jazz, blues, rock, circus music, ballads, interludes with field like recordings, etc.

But most importantly, these guys know how to write a song, as they’ve proven in the past with some very catchy selections from their catalogue. Even with the different lineup changes, with Roine at the helm, they’ve continued to release interesting albums. And while I definitely enjoy every album by them In some form or another, there are some that just stick out way more than others.

That is because some of these albums can kind of forget the songwriting in order to focus on the flashiness. Those albums suffer in my opinion. But that is ok, because if their discography has shown us anything, it’s that they always bounce back. They always make an album for every kind of fan in their fan base. And in the instance of their latest release, I didn’t expect it to be so soon!

To give a bit of backstory, the band started out consistently releasing an album every year or two, before their first major rest period from 2007 – 2012, after what is probably my favorite by them, The Sum of No Evil. Focusing on touring and solo albums, the band bounced back with The Banks of Eden and Desolation Rose with new drummer Felix Lehrmann. Whether his influence or the influence of the Prog metal around the band, they signified a darker/heavier influence while still sounding like the band.

The band then went onto hiatus #2, this time not only returning with a new drummer Mirko DeMaio, but also a new keyboardist, replacing longtime contributor Tomas Bodin. Zach Kamins on paper seems like an interesting choice for keyboardist of the Flower Kings, receiving acclaim for his own instrumental/progressive metal band An Endless Sporadic. But his wide range of influences and technicality fits right in.

Their first release with these two members, Waiting For Miracles, came out about a year ago at the time of this review, and while his technicality worked well (and I admittedly need to give it a fairer chance with more listens), I wasn’t initially grabbed the same way I was with many of their other albums.

When they announced ANOTHER new album less than a year later, I was surprised, but also captivated by the YES-influenced album cover, as well as some of the details about the album. Written and recorded during the COVID pandemic, it was assembled by the members from their homes all over the world. The lyrics of loneliness and isolation, inspired by these events, and the fact that the songs were short but made to flow through as one, made me think of a darker more modern version of their classic Flower Power. This made me excited to delve in.

The 21 short songs, split into two CDs, are all very unique, and very much their own parts. This really helps boost this album’s memorability above many of the more technical and tedious Flower Kings albums. There’s no 20 minute songs to try and remember all 5 or 6 of its movements. This will help the band as well when they start playing live again and have a wealth of songs at their disposal instead of having to decide which epic to play next.

I can see why some fans won’t like this album, because they will see a lot of these songs just coming and going with no real substance. I can agree to some extent. I feel like some of these movements might have actually benefited from stringing them together. That way, some cool transitions would have given the songs a bit more purpose rather than just starting and stopping randomly. I’ll explain that a bit more in my quick (at least I hope it will be) rundown. But I will say that as fan who was fatigued by a few of their albums, this one was a really welcome surprise.

It all starts with”Racing with the Blinders On”, which after 14 seconds of silence starts off with some random jazz/funk style hits before delving into an overture leaded by Roine’s guitar and Zach’s keys with the bass and drums holding it down behind them. 2 and a half minutes in, we have a catchy melody that builds and ends with the next song slowly coming in (a transition that could have been fixed in my opinion).

“From the Ground” is a beautiful pop/hippy style Flower Kings song that made me nostalgic of their early albums. Definitely a highlight. “Black Swan” is a quirky vaudeville style song with enough memorable melodies, and early on we know a few things. Zach and Mirko feel very comfortable on this one. Hasse and Roine’s vocals are gel-ing the best that they have done in years, and we are in for a treat with the rest of this album.

From the country style of “Morning News”, which they do an excellent job of, to the perfect blend of classic Prog and modern rock of “Broken” which was released as a single. This song has an excellent middle section that shows their talent, but is almost among the catchiest the band has released in a long time. The lyrics of the album as a whole were apparently written during the writing sessions which can be seen while listening, but is also a part of the charm. If they were more fleshed out, maybe there’d be more focus on the melodic parts and the memorable lyrics, but there is also a very raw, honest, and open style that we have only seen glimpses of in their discography.

“Goodbye Outrage” is Roine’s voice singing emotionally over an orchestra arrangement for 2 and a half minutes, and “Journeyman” is a quick jazz fusion jam session that shows not only Zach’s chops, but also his writing ability. “Tangerine” is a simple, smooth, and soulful tune, “Solaris” is the longest song on the album with an excellent spacey middle section, “Heart of the Valley” is another 70s pop/Prog tune and “Man in a Two Piece Suit” is an instrumental guitar solo that closes Disc 1.

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If you need to take a break before continuing to Disc 2 I understand. I need a break before I continue writing about it.

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Ok! I’m back! Almost a week later, and ready to tackle Disc 2. So let’s get on with it!

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Disc 2 starts right away with an upbeat, almost alternative rock song written and sung by Hasse, called “All I Need is Love”. A unique song, different than much of their catalog. Also, my girl told me it kind of sounded like Mana, and now I can’t I hear that, so it had to make its way into the review. This is followed by a true Prog instrumental called “A New Species”, with space tones and unique transitions.

The next song, “Northern Lights” takes its time to build up with hints of middle eastern and Spanish touches behind the vocals, and a wonderful fret less bass tone. It returns to The Flower King Sound on the chorus and is a very catchy tune once it gets going. It also has an excellent drum break towards the end. It is followed by a short progressive sounding transition called “Hidden Angels” which is another one of those moments that felt like it could have been touched up a bit, but also showcases more of Zach’s amazing talent and knack for fusion inspired compositions.

“Serpentine” is one of the most interesting pieces on either disc. It is complete with syncopation, jazz style saxophone solos, vocal effects, counter-melodies, and an upbeat, almost frantic pace. Maybe not the best songwriting or lyrics, but it’s stand-out sound might make this a fan favorite in live settings, just to watch the band pull it off. And honestly, who won’t crack a smile during its “are you happy?”section?

“Looking For Answers” is another excellent Prog jam session, that’s almost instrumental until it’s repeated phrase towards the end. “Telescope” is an emotional ballad with memorable lyrics, catchy melodies, and some of the lyrics especially tie together ideas that we’ve already heard in the album. “Fool’s Gold” is another upbeat and driving song with some funky rhythms that is good on its own, but honestly, this is where the album starts to drag a little bit.

The idea to end the album with so many ballad-like songs is probably its greatest downfall. Even though they all have their own unique styles and they come and go in their own directions, Disc 2 just doesn’t end as strongly as Disc 1. “Between Hope and Fear” is saved by its majestic melody that kind of acts like a chorus and an outro, otherwise the quirky verse with the vocal effect is a bit forgettable.

The album ends with its title track, which like the ending of Disc 1 is another excellent guitar solo piece. That being said, we’ve seen Roine do this a million times by now, and the fat could have been trimmed a bit if you’ve looking at the entire experience. If you’re only looking at each disc separately, then it works because the discs compliment each other so well and both albums give you a little bit of all that the band has to offer you.

Both discs have their catchy choruses, their Prog moments, their beauty, their solos. Both showcase the talents of all the members. So listening to either disc on its own is exceptionally easy and enjoyable. But if you’re supposed to listen to it all together like the band intended it to be, it might just be a bit too much to digest all in one sitting.

If they really wanted to sell a two disc – 1 song concept album idea, it could have used some smoother transitions, trimmed the “fat”, or a few more memorable moments.

Still, I can’t complain too much. It’s one of my favorite albums by them, and definitely their best in a long time. While the last few albums seemed like they were just trying to capture the magic of the album before, this one feels new, unique, and yet, strangely familiar. It reminds you of the old Flower King output. And that’s a good thing. Because sometimes it’s necessary for bands to remind you why you got into them in the first, even during times of experimentation.

This album allows them a lot of freedom. It allows them the chance to keep taking risks on future albums, cause its gives fans so much catchy material in the meantime. It is their easiest listen in a very long time, and will have a lot of playability. You can listen to it over and over again and still enjoy it. Even with the faults that I’ve mentioned, I’ve found it hard to take it out of my CD player and listen to other albums I need to review.

So overall, it’s got its faults, but for an album that was written so quickly, it actually was very close to being perfect. It will excite their old fans, and will be the perfect introduction for new fans just discovering them. Let’s hope it ushers in a new era for the band. One without any 5 year breaks!

2016 Album Review #17

Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas – Mariner (Indie Recordings)

In 2013, Swedish post-metal band Cult of Luna released Vertikal, a concept album heavily inspired by such asMetropolis to explore themes of industrial cities. That album has remained one of my favorite albums of all time, and I was eager to know what the band was going to do next. So when I heard that their next project was collaboration with American singer Julie Christmas, and would be a concept album about space exploration based on movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey, I already knew that it was going to be a contender for album of the year.

Julie Christmas is famous for her work with Made Out of Babies and Battle of Mice, but has not sung on a full album since her solo album The Bad Wife in 2010. Her vocal style is fragile and haunting. It actually reminds me a lot of Adam Fisher (Fear Before the March of Flames/Orbs/All Human) who is one of my all time favorite singers. I knew her voiced matched with Cult of Luna would create a quite a unique experience. Needless to say, this album delivers.

“A Greater Call” starts off with a beautiful almost three-minute intro before a combination of Julie’s cleans and Cult of Luna’s trademark yells come into play, bringing the song into full effect. This is one of my favorite songs released by either project, as it is sludgy and mysterious at the same time. “Chevron” features industrial like fuzzy bass playing while Julie takes full control of the vocals. She shows the diversity of her voice, eventually going from high shrieks to beautiful melodies towards the end. “The Wreck of S.S. Needle” might be the darkest track on the album, reminding me a lot of some of the atmospheric sections of Vertikal.

And while the 8 to 9 minute songs were already epic, the album closes with a 13- minute and a 15-minute track that show the band and Julie’s ability to jam while simultaneously going back and forth from soft to heavy within the context of a song. Overall, it is an incredible album that is not for the faint of heart. When tackled, it is a rewarding experience.

– Jordan Salfity

Official Site: http://cultofluna.squarespace.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cultoflunamusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Julie-Christmas

Bandcamp: https://juliechristmas.bandcamp.com/