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Reviews
Cult Of Luna: Eternal kingdom
23/07/09 || Global Domination
“Eternal Kingdom” is one of those records so difficult to review I wish I had never intended to do so in the first place. Simply put, it is so full of moments that hit me squarely in the cold pit of my stomach, I’m sure I won’t be able to do it justice. Perhaps I could leave it at saying this sort of stuff is what I breathe for, or what I got into metal for and why I’ll keep on listening to it fucken forever. I could seriously leave it at that, but I fucken won’t, you know? Music as incredibly meaningful as what Cult of Luna has created here needs to be heard and talked about. Of course, such soul-crushing sludge/pot-metal/hardcore or whatever it might be called has to be of interest to you. If it isn’t, you might as well fuck off early doors and stop reading just about now.
As the story goes, the guys found a book in their rehearsal space, an old mental institution, written by a patient who was convicted for killing his wife. The book was titled “Tales from the Eternal Kingdom”, and it must have been some twisted recollection of demented thoughts in order to inspire such a disturbingly dark record. These guys have created something timeless here, a classic record that I’ve already listened to too many times, and will probably listen to a lot more in years to come.
Cult of Luna seems to be one of those bands so “out there” that you can’t help but wonder how the hell they manage to write such fucken beautifully sinister and emotionally invested music. The skills these guys have as songwriters are simply otherworldly. They’re most closely connected to the essence of their genre than what most metal bands ever will be, a fact that becomes apparent when you analyze each and every second of “Eternal Kingdom”.
Opener “Owlwood” starts a powerful note, progressing firmly with the slow yet unstoppable force of sludge at its best, before winding down into a peaceful acoustic-driven outro. Said ending doesn’t prepare you at all for the thumping delivered next on the title track, an affair full of potent drum patterns, spiraling riffs and oppressive bass lines. An excellent song, heavy yet permeated with a sense of déjà vu; of haunted memories and insanity so subtly incorporated you can’t help but notice. A contradiction, I know, but that’s how I feel Cult of Luna gets their points across.
If you thought the opening tracks were stunning, the devastating juggernaut that is “Ghost Trail” can be upheld as the prime example of their songwriting prowess! This monstrous track is a mind-altering experience, beautiful in its apparent instrumental simplicity, and at the same time utterly complex in structure. Leaves me fucken breathless every time I listen to it! The somber layers of the intro move forward at a crushing crawl, building up with slow, furious intensity while the tortured vocals of Klas Rydberg ooze despair and madness. The entwined guitar lines take over then, overlapping on a series of concentric riffs full of emotion. After that high, a quiet passage seems to die down in a whisper of hope, yet in fact only serves as the ecstatic calm before the storm of feedback-filled, roaring thunder that finishes this dark epic.
The scary thing about Cult of Luna is that they are very consistent above all. The rest of the album is just as good as “Ghost Trail”, would you imagine? It just happens to be one of the most compelling songs I’ve ever heard since I’ve been listening to metal in all its different forms. To follow up we get shadowy interlude “The Lure”, a keyboard-driven and quite creepy fucken tune indeed, nothing heart-warming about it at all. “Mire Deep” is next, and it starts off with typical steamrolling heaviness, yet has one disturbing melodic midsection that becomes one of those unforgettable moments that strikes a chord deep in my subconscious.
Then comes “The Great Migration”, and I’m at a loss on how to describe this incredible song. On a par with “Ghost Trail”, this is a masterclass on riff progressions, driven by some of the sickest guitar lines I’ve ever listened to, and complemented with a core of thunderous yet exquisitely intelligent drumming and overwhelming bass waves. This is magnificent music my dear fellows: ferocious and punishing yet so elegantly crafted I can’t help but acknowledge these dudes are up there with the best musicians in any genre of metal!
Another sinister instrumental piece, “Österbotten”, comes next as a sort of breather, before giving way to the doom laden goodness of “Curse”, the slowest song off the album, which shows us a moodier side of the band, without forgetting the required doses of aggression. “Ugin” follows up on a similar theme of gloom, a beautiful acoustic piece that evokes many shades of uneasy sadness. The dissonant and powerful shock caused by closer “Following Bethulas” is felt more keenly then, a proper grand finale that stops at nothing and punishes the listener with waves of rhythmic heaviness. A fitting finish for such a breathtaking album indeed!
As per the musicians themselves, be satisfied to know that everyone really knows what they’re doing in this bunch, no fucken doubts about it. Thomas Hedlund is a monster at the drum kit, a hard hitting fucker with a huge sound and creativeness by the loads. Andreas Johansson is not far behind him on the bass, another very skilled guy with a knack for driving the songs forward with his potent bass work. Klas Rydberg’s vocals are brash, ugly and desperate, not to mention very fucken loud. The interplay between Olofsson, Persson and Kihlberg on guitars is simply the stuff of dreams, constructing riffs with plenty of finesse and aggression, while Lindberg and Teglund weave complicated sonic webs of keyboard melodies and noise background that truly take the band’s sound into ethereal, unexplored levels.
Surprisingly enough, I’m a very late adherent to this genre, having started to listen to bands similar to Cult of Luna just about three years ago. The impact this music has had on me has been stunning! I never really expected to like any of these bands, even if I’m always game for listening to any metal. I certainly didn’t expect them to be so viscerally meaningful on so many levels. While is easy to recognize Neurosis and Isis as the forefathers of this sound and main referents, I’m sure I’m not alone when thinking Cult of Luna has been steadily evolving into a extraordinary entity themselves since their inception. They’ve gone beyond their influences to create a sound of their own, and after the unbelievable brilliance of “Eternal Kingdom”, they have to be considered one of the most remarkable metal bands of today. Not to forget also that any of their other records stomps on truckloads of midgets, by the way! In the end, this is transcendental stuff, ladies and gentlemen, and regardless of what yer preferences might dictate, you’d do well to listen to “Eternal Kingdom” if metal played with intelligence, emotion and aggression is to your liking.
- Information
- Released: 2008
- Label: Earache Records
- Website: www.cultofluna.com
- Band
- Erik Olofsson: guitar
- Johannes Persson: guitar, vocals
- Fredrik Kihlberg: guitar, vocals
- Andreas Johansson: bass
- Thomas Hedlund: drums
- Magnus Lindberg: sound engineering, percussion, guitar
- Klas Rydberg: vocals
- Anders Teglund: sampler, synthesizers
- Tracklist
- 01. Owlwood
- 02. Eternal Kingdom
- 03. Ghost Trail
- 04. The Lure (Interlude)
- 05. Mire Deep
- 06. The Great Migration
- 07. Österbotten
- 08. Curse
- 09. Ugín
- 10. Following Betulas