Written during a time when vocalist Johannes Perrson was exploring the remote areas of northern Sweden, the aptly named ‘The Long Road North’ serves to bridge the gap between 2019’s ‘A Dawn to Fear’ and last year’s EP ‘The Raging River’. Some of the material is left over from Cult of Luna’s writing sessions for Julie Christmas collaboration ‘Mariner’, which lend a sense of grandiosity to some of the tracks. The musical journey that the band have embarked upon is easy to track if you revisit each release in order.
The impact of ‘The Long Road North’ is absolutely earth shattering from the moment you press play. Cult of Luna are a band who have perfected the art of sounding bleak and heavy. Johannes’ vocals are visceral as he roars alongside seismic crashes of percussion and gargantuan riffs. They pump the brakes a little on ‘Beyond I’, a song which hearkens back to their more experimental ‘Vertikal’ era. With the help of Swedish jazz musician Mariam Wallentin’s haunting vocals they create a track which feels almost eerie in its subdued approach.
Having never gone more than 5 years without releasing new material, Cult of Luna are nothing if not consistent. However, their approach to each release is markedly different. This newest direction in their musical trajectory is undoubtedly their heaviest yet. It’s impossible to predict what’s next for the Swedes, however, one thing is certain: if it hits even half as hard as ‘The Long Road North’ then they’re onto a winner.
(8/10 Angela Davey)
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