CULT OF LUNA — The Long Road North (review)

CULT OF LUNA — The Long Road North album cover

Album · 2022 · Atmospheric Sludge Metal

3.5/5 · 2022-02-24
siLLy puPPy

Love em or hate em, Sweden’s CULT OF LUNA has become one of the most recognized names in post-metal alongside bands like Neurosis, Isis and Agalloch. This band from Umeå has also been quite productive in its two decade career having never taking longer than three years to craft new material to release. This is also one of those bands that continues to become more popular with each subsequent release with a loyal fanbase that seems to go gaga every time the band puts out a new album and so it seems is the case with the band’s latest 12th full album release THE LONG ROAD NORTH.

While there is an overlap between what is called atmospheric sludge metal and what has become referred to as post-metal, CULT OF LUNA more than any other has crafted a brand of angsty sludge metal teased out into sprawling post-rock constructs arguable more successfully than any other band out there. Following their huge hit album “A Dawn To Fear” which was top album on many metal sites in 2019, THE LONG ROAD NORTH continues down the post-sludgy highway. One of CULT OF LUNA’s trademarks is a long and drifting musical style that almost always slinks past the 60-minute mark and oft pushing the boundaries of CD playing time and this latest 2022 effort is no exception to that rule.

THE LONG ROAD NORTH presents nine brand spankin’ new tracks that conspire to steal 69 minutes of your life with CULT OF LUNA’s classic atmospheric rivers of post-rock meeting sludge metal and the consistent contrast of emotionally charged clean vocal passages with the dramatic discharge of screaming sludge metal excess. As the band has matured the tones and textures of the ambience have become more sophisticated and augmented by a number of guest musicians which in this case includes four guest musicians that contribute saxophone, flute, lyrics and even more guitars above and beyond the parts the three permanent guitarists already contribute. Despite the abundance of six-strings on board, CULT OF LUNA has oft seemed more of a post-rock band than a true metal band as the metal parts seem like only half the equation but lo and behold when the time is right, the loud and proud aspects of sludgery supreme are let off their leash to a deafening uproar!

Another predominant aspect of CULT OF LUNA’s approach is to offer a hypnotic psychedelic flow to its music and in that regard the metal riffs and heavier passages are almost subordinate to. There is a lot more attention paid to the swirling sounds of the softer parts whereas the metal bombast consists of power chords and increased energy level of the bass and drums. A boon for lovers of Krautrock, neo-psychedelic experimentalism and minimalism but somewhat of a downer for metalheads seeking a more robust discharge of guitar, bass and drum fury. CULT OF LUNA seem to be invested in the hypnotic effects of repetition and cyclical loops more in the vein of Godspeed You! Black Emperor than the atomic sludgery of bands like Neurosis but as the opening “Cold Burn” and title track showcase, the band has no problem switching gears to the atmospheric sludge angst of bands like Isis and Panopticon in a heartbeat.

Overall CULT OF LUNA is a band i respect more than actually enjoy. I find their albums a bit too sprawling for my tastes given the limited scope of material presented however there’s no denying that the material they craft is effective in what it’s trying to achieve. The problem results in the fact that when i want my post-metal sludge attack i want the hardcore no nonsense approach of early Neurosis or the more progressive twists and turns of bands like Intronaut leaving CULT OF LUNA down the list of my interests. Having said that, this band is hotter than freshly ejected magma for a reason and that is because they have mastered a unique atmospheric procession of post-metal that offers that perfect balance of chill time and eruptive outrage however for my tastes THE LONG ROAD NORTH doesn’t deviate in style from pretty much every other album CULT OF LUNA has released and the length of the album is an arduous task indeed. A competent and exhilarating album indeed but for me personally this one doesn’t really scratch that itch.