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Rating: It should not be surprising that Cult Of Luna, for their sixth effort, have embraced the idea of a concept album based on a famous black and white film from the 1930s by Fritz Lang.
Sometimes it might be used demagogically, but in this case, "Vertikal" itself becomes a black and white film, set in an oppressive futuristic metropolis characterized by industrial fumes, greyness, shrill sirens, and mechanical automatisms.
More than just a record, it seems like a totalizing and alienating experience where every piece is only part of a massive metallic mosaic of which no end can be seen.
The entrance into this universe is “The One,” the Earth seems far away, there's almost a sensation of lightness underfoot: the shuttle has launched and is already in open space, darkness envelops us.
With “I - The Weapon,” the Swedes immediately get serious, firing their biggest round amidst rocky growls and magmatic streams of lava shot like cannons from the guitars, only to grant a tormented and evocative finale where attention to melody emerges, one of the keystones of the work.
Ambition rises to another level in the subsequent “Vicarious Redemption,” which in its nearly nineteen minutes blends ambient, distant echoes of post-rock, doom, and metal, gradually opening up after a long instrumental introduction. “In Awe Of” doesn't need words; the images created in sequence during its listening speak for themselves in our mind.
While surprisingly in the first part of “Mute Departure,” clean vocals appear for the first time in an unexpected way, which then accompany the decadent closure of “Passing Through.”
What comes out is an intricate, heavy album, but one that isn't solely hard, which at times is softened by the decisive contribution of keyboards and electronics that are not placed randomly, but rather a necessary contribution to complete the global design of this sensory experience that Cult Of Luna offers us.
4.5/5
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