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Rating: I was waiting for it. I was anticipating the release of their new work knowing it wouldn't disappoint me. And so it was. "Somewhere Along The Highway" is simply stunning. The sound of Cult of Luna is in constant evolution, and here it is so dense it implodes. Post-hardcore without a doubt, monolithic yet at the same time expanded like the best albums of the genre.
The progression of the music leaves you breathless, the guitars even in moments of quiet hint at progressions that often transform into implosions or impenetrable walls of sound. The growling of the singer is an integral part of the sound flow. Not easy to explain in short, let's say a well-executed crossover between Minsk (those who don't know them should, and they will enjoy!) and the more guitar-driven Mogwai. The songs are very long (but they could be even longer as far as I'm concerned), only seven tracks, four of which exceed 10 minutes by far.
The secret is to let yourself be carried away. Do not remain anchored to song form. It doesn't exist here. You need to get in tune with the sound vortex. An opiate sound vortex, I'd dare to say, ultra-slow tempos torn by martial progressions that naturally meld back into post-rock environments. The blackest and most romantic post-hardcore I've ever heard.
It's incredible how Cult of Luna managed to immerse themselves so deeply into the atmospheres of the cold North European. This happens due to an epic and majestic approach that combines with a growling voice to counterpoint the moments of sound catharsis. The simultaneous action creates an almost romantic halo, I repeat, a climate full of pathos and dark mist that truly evokes visions as distant and unknown as they are fascinating. The band's sound is even more squared and psychedelic compared to their previous work "Salvation" and superbly synthesizes a truly eclectic mix of different genres (primarily post-hardcore and post-rock). Certainly, they might not have been the first, but who cares? No one has ever done it with such mastery. Echoes of infinite influences or none at all, majestic distortions or minimal introspections, apocalyptic screams or electric embroidery: all fused into a sound that is literally heart-wrenching and beautiful. From a certain point of view, I really think this is the best release of 2006 so far, perhaps not just of 2006.
The album opens with "Marching To Heartbeats", 3 minutes and change, very slow, the equipment powers up, the mammoth gets moving. Every step is perfectly calibrated to sustain the enormous bulk of the creature that draws sustenance from the surgical segmentation of doom while at the same time from the hypnotic expansions of psychedelia. Worth mentioning is the final triptych "Thirtyfour", "Dim" and "Dark City, Dead Man": 37 minutes (!!) of pure journey without a precise destination other than that of our imagination. Those still sadly and monotonously wanting to showcase a repeated anti-contamination stance for metal should listen to the extraordinary "Finland" where the intertwining of molecules between liquid post-rock and "metallic" vision gives birth to a creature with somatic features halfway between Explosion In The Sky and Neurosis. And they should once and for all withdraw their prejudices.
At times even too dense and strenuous, the music of Cult of Luna is, on the other hand, an indispensable experience for anyone who still harbors a minimum of musical curiosity. Finally considering that the band possesses an innate and rare ability to vary the atmospheres within the same song, you will have the picture of an album that if you truly love rock, without silly distinctions into subcategories, I'm sure it will keep you company for a long time.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Marching to the Heartbeats (07:01)
The sun, the light in your eyes, trapped me in a cage.
When you saw me you saw yourself.
We were the ones that marched and fell.
02 Finland (09:21)
These things moved me when I turned my back. Now I return with open hands.
I found light that lead me to the shrine where children sang and pilgrims mourned.
I was lost but not alone.
From a distance they come alive. Sleepwalking across the plains.
No answers were found here. Seeking shelter in her embrace.
Down on sore knees. Erase and begin. Under my eyelids, come forth light.
04 And With Her Came the Birds (08:38)
Night falls, silence takes a grip. Guilt I retrieved, a burning will to die.
I need this to be over before I am bleeding dry.
Somewhere along the highway these tracks must end.
I pass a crowd on my way to the house on the hill.
Dead man with pitchfork arms tells me all that he knows.
Leave me here for the crows.
In the Fall she came back, and with her the birds.
05 Thirtyfour (10:14)
In her eyes he stares at his reflection. A faint dream, that disappeared at dawn.
Standing at the shore patiently waiting. But the waves do not return when she is gone.
So he followed her footsteps, to the highway that sealed his fate.
The wind blew all sand away. Faceless people that walked astray.
Behind the dunes false hope awaits the ones that lost what was loved.
06 Dim (09:55)
From the skyline dark clouds move in. They shroud me with her cold cover.
Eyes like daggers puncture the skin. Isolated in a room with no others.
Where do I turn when all hope is lost? Where do I find forgiveness?
My search for salvation has begun. To find a place where our hearts beat as one.
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