Cult of Luna

Kontinuum – Kyrr Review

By Madam X on April 22, 2015 in 2015, Avante Garde, Black Metal, Candlelight Records, Doom Metal, Icelandic Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Not Metal, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Ambient Metal, Doom Metal, Gothic Metal, Non-metal Metal Things, Post-Metal, Progressive Metal, 37 comments

“The Kontinuum… continues! Not to be confused with the tech death band Continuum reviewed here by Dr. A.N. Grier earlier in the week, Kontinuum are an Icelandic band that plays a multifarious blend of dreamwave and post-rock/metal with some inviting and interesting gothic undertones.” Is Iceland becoming the next Finland?

Callisto – Secret Youth Review

By Mark Z. on February 1, 2015 in 2015, Finnish Metal, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Svart Records, Post-Metal, Progressive Rock, 5 comments

“Post-metal had something of a heyday in the last decade, with seemingly everyone on the Internet gushing over Isis’ Panopticon, Neurosis’ Given to the Rising, and whatever Cult of Luna and Pelican were up to. While there’s still quality post-metal coming out today (The Ocean’s Pelagial in 2013, Beak’s debut last year), I think it’s safe to say the genre is no longer as in vogue as it once was.” And if you don’t have vogue, what do you have?

Caïna – Setter of Unseen Snares Review

By Madam X on January 23, 2015 in 2015, Black Metal, Church of Fuck, English Metal, Post-metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Skin & Bones Records, Black Metal, Post-Metal, 27 comments

“Caïna certainly aren’t your typical black metal band, they’re not Norwegian, Swedish, American or French as you would expect. In fact, Caïna is the labor of heartache by Englishman Andrew Curtis-Brignell and his band’s discography is all over the map.” Constantly changing and mutating, this act is very hard to pin down. But Madam X has many pins and a will to win.

Beak – Let Time Begin Review

By Lord Doom on September 23, 2014 in Reviews, Post-Metal, 2 comments

“Post-metal has had a lot going for it in the past year. If you count it, The Ocean’s Pelagial was a remarkable work of art, as beautiful as it was heavy. Cult of Luna returned with the monstrous Vertikal last year and even gave fans more music with Vertikal II, the companion EP. And to add to it, Rosetta gave The Anaesthete to the world via Bandcamp, essentially for free. It’s a great time for post-metal…” Can Beak keep the post-metal golden age rolling or are the good times all over?

Pet Slimmers of the Year – Fragments of Uniforms Review

By Madam X on March 29, 2014 in 2014, Candlelight, English Metal, Non-Metal Metal Things, Not Metal, Post-Rock, Reviews, Post-Metal, 3 comments

“So the Process Church of the Final Judgement wasn’t really your thing? Don’t slit your wrists over it, cults aren’t for everybody. Candlelight Records recently took a walk on the wild side adding a band that doesn’t run with their usual black metal or even their melodic death metal circles. Their band name is absurd, meaningless and annoying to the point where Nothing actually may be the better option, and to say that it had me tearing my hair out in chunks is an understatement. Pet Slimmers of the Year… Have you tried to Google this? No dammit, I’m not putting my feline on a diet, round is a shape too!” Yep, that’s the worst band name of all time. But, is the music any good? Madam X has opinions.

Lodz – Something In Us Died Review

By Grymm on October 15, 2013 in 2013, French Metal, Reviews, Season of Mist, Post-Metal, 2 comments

“Post-metal is a rough genre to navigate. It’s very difficult to make a name for yourself when you’re constantly compared to Neurosis, Isis, or Cult of Luna. The very second when a quiet song starts building steam and crushes the opposition, you are branded a copycat. Hence, France’s Lodz have an uphill battle on their debut album, Something In Us Died. However, if you must stand out in a severely overcrowded field of imitators, do so by being honest and compassionate about your craft, and Something In Us Died has both honesty and passion in spades.” New-ish scribe Grymm returns to educate you on the dos and don’ts of post-metal. Read this review of Lodz and we will award you a post-grad degree in post-metal (for a nominal fee TBD).

Cult of Luna – Vertikal II Review

By Alex Franquelli on September 29, 2013 in 2.5, 2013, Avante Garde, Indie Recordings, Progressive Metal, Reviews, Shoegaze, Sludge, Swedish Metal, Drone, Progressive Metal, 2 comments

“Now, where were we? I seem to remember this this great album from an act simply incapable of disappointing. In was the middle of winter and North Korea appeared as a threat to the dumb half of the world’s population. Today, while that same fraction struggles to locate the hemisphere Syria is in, the summer light convulses in his death throes this side of the planet and we take shelter from the impending cold. OK, but what about the music?” The ever mercurial Alex is here to cover the equally mercurial Cult of Luna’s new release, Vertikal II. If you aren’t careful, you may get mercurial poisoning!

Record(s) o’ the Month – January 2013

By Angry Metal Guy on February 1, 2013 in 2013, Blog Posts, Record o' the Month, 19 comments

After donning the blue and gold on AngryMetalGuy.com for a whole month and making every red-blooded Swede vaguely uncomfortable due to the latent nationalism that they can’t possibly ever admit to, it’s time for a change. Indeed, 2013’s first month has passed and while it hasn’t been extraordinarily explosive, it brought with it a few great releases that deserve a second (or third or fourth) look. So, without further ado…

Cult of Luna – Vertikal Review

By Alex Franquelli on January 19, 2013 in 2013, 4.5, Hardcore, Indie Recordings, Reviews, Sludge, Swedish Metal, 10 comments

I started listening to Cult of Luna with The Beyond. The year was 2003, the city was quiet and the light had been swallowed by the sound of an unspecified frequency – an electric wall of sound that made everything glow. And it burned so bright that I remained silent for the following, painful 67 minutes. I stopped listening to Cult Of Luna a year later. It was 2004, the album was Salvation and I couldn’t help but think that everything that had to be told had already been told. I resumed listening to Cult of Luna in 2013. Resistance became futile. And, yes, giving in was the right thing to do.

Amenra – Mass V Review

By Noctus on November 28, 2012 in 2.0, 2012, Doom Metal, Neurot Records, Reviews, Sludge, Sludge, 11 comments

Noctus is with us again to question Amenra’s Neurosis influence, sense of heaviness and their ability to us Roman numerals in an approriate way. Don’t get too upset about it, man, those things are confusing!