Cult Of Luna

Emerging from Sweden with an emphasis on experimentation and socio-political themes, Cult of Luna shifted from late-'90s doomy hardcore roots to become leading figures in progressive post-metal throughout the 2000s. The group delivered five albums via Earache, among them the widely praised Salvation (2004) and Somewhere Along the Highway (2006), before signing with Indie Recordings during the following decade. Subsequent releases such as Mariner (2016), A Dawn to Fear (2019), and The Long Road North (2022)—the last appearing through Metal Blade—sustained their signature blend of immersive atmospheres and intricate technical execution.

Tracing their origins to the remnants of hardcore outfit Eclipse in the northern Swedish city of Umeå—home also to avant-hardcore pioneers Refused alongside metal extremists Meshuggah and Naglfar—Cult of Luna refined an intricate, deeply atmospheric strain of progressive metalcore rooted in the groundbreaking approach of American act Neurosis. Though far from alone in drawing from the Bay Area group, alongside acts like Isis and Rwake, Cult of Luna distinguished themselves through singular accomplishment, making a striking entrance with their self-titled 2001 debut on Rage of Achilles and securing additional underground recognition via a 2002 7-inch on influential imprint Hydra Head Records. Follow-up The Beyond, issued a couple of years afterward, reinforced their reputation and launched an association with Earache featuring vocalist Klas Rydberg, guitarists Erik Olofsson and Johannes Persson, bassist Andreas Johansson, keyboardist Magnus Lindberg, and drummer Marco Hilden. Hedlund took over percussion the subsequent year, while Anders Teglund joined on samples to expand the lineup to seven for the well-received 2004 album Salvation. Conceptual effort Somewhere Along the Highway arrived in 2006 to further acclaim, placing fifth on Decibel magazine’s year-end list.

Dark and intense release Eternal Kingdom surfaced in 2008 and earned a nomination at Grammisgalan, Sweden’s equivalent of the Grammy Awards, while 2013’s Vertikal—issued through Norwegian label Indie Recordings—took inspiration from Fritz Lang’s landmark science-fiction film Metropolis. Companion EP Vertikal II followed later that year, and 2016 brought the space-themed Mariner, recorded in tandem with American singer Julie Christmas of Made Out of Babies and Battle of Mice. Returning to the studio in 2019 without prior concepts, the band captured their expansive eighth full-length, A Dawn to Fear, incorporating acoustic elements and organs for the first time on a heavier-sounding effort. February 2021 saw the emergence of The Raging River, drawn from the same sessions and appearing on the group’s own Red Creek imprint; the record included guest vocals from Screaming Trees’ Mark Lanegan on “Inside of a Dream,” a collaboration they had sought for more than fifteen years. Later in 2021 they unveiled the single “Cold Burn,” preceding the more layered and far-reaching The Long Road North in 2022.