Doomster
Yet another reason why Sweden is my personal favorite metal country.
Alot of people say Cult of Luna's following effort, "Somewhere Along The Highway" is the band's best album, however, I personally disagree. Don't get me wrong, I love SATH with all my heart, but I will always have a soft spot for CoL's preceeding release, "Salvation". "Salvation" is arguably where this Swedish post-metal/atmospheric sludge metal act first showed the world their true genius. The band's first two albums, the self-titled debut and "The Beyond", were the most, raw, agressive, and visceral outputs by the band.
On "Salvation", however, things have changed up a bit. Like Dirge from France, and Isis and Neurosis from California (who are all also post metal bands), the band has arguably incorporated less metal elements as their music evolved. "Salvation" is one such case of this with Cult of Luna.
While it is true that there are mostly softer, cleaner elements on this album, that's not to say that "Salvation" isn't a metal album. There are plenty of heavy moments here. For example, a song would start off as soft, and then completely explode in your face, usually taking a large chunk of time to do so, adding false buildups to shake things up. Some songs, though, are heavy right off the bat, like the song song "Adrift" (which has one of the greatest riffs ever, I may add) which stays mostly heavy during it's entire duration. Another song worthy of mention is "Waiting For You", which has one of the most unfuckingbelievably righteous build ups I have ever heard in a metal song, before evolving into some hypnotic heavy riffage, some vocals...and then the song ends.
This is my favorite album by Cult of Luna. Sure, there sound isn't for everyone, but I personally think this is their best outing yet. Highlights include: "Adrift", "Waiting For You" (my personal favorite CoL song ever) and "Vague Illusions". If you are a fan of Isis, Neurosis, Pelican, Dirge, etc., pick it up.