It’s always a joy to learn Cult of Luna will be releasing something new and as the Swedes have proved time and time again, their passion for their craft is far from waning. Through atmospheric post-metal, the band create textures that range from heightened drama to serene vocal passages to incandescent rage on a journey towards the cold stars of home on The Long Road North. “Cold Burn” is an icy hot vortex of sound as Cult of Luna begin this voyage on maximum power. Johannes Persson’s voice casts a weighty shadow over the clever instrumentation as he narrates the protagonist’s pilgrimage through the snow bound forest. The story that lies beneath The Long Road North is one that covers vast swathes of land, the mountains that roll over the countryside and legends that have been lost to time, and Cult of Luna bring all of those forth in what is ostensibly an ode to their homeland and the myths that have been born and have died there.
Structures that seem to be conjured from the earth itself rise above the notes of “The Silver Arc” as the song progresses through dynamic guitars and electronic pulses that entwine in the air and build themselves higher, towering towards the storm-lit sky before falling back to Persson’s guttural roars and swallowing the light whole. This is a method used often in the world of Cult of Luna as they allow their sounds to construct new worlds before tearing them apart again, playing the quiet/loud dynamic to its logical conclusion and giving their music the time to breathe where necessary. This is shown succinctly on the majestic “An Offering to the Wild,” where the saxophonist Colin Stetson (who also appears on and co-wrote “Beyond II”) lends added depth to a song that is already brimming with peaks and valleys of emotion.
That emotion is felt keenly through the gorgeous “Into the Night,” a song which features the voice of guitarist Fredrik Kihlberg at its most prominent. Delicate and bittersweet, Kihlberg renders the song into a haunting lullaby that covers the time that is lost between sleep and waking. Curiously affecting, the vocals are often laid with effects that distort them just enough to wonder if what you heard is correct or if it belongs to the dreamlike state the song invokes. The gauzy light of the dream is not long for the world of Cult of Luna as the title track expands their voices to reach across the shadowed lands with flashes of electronic beats, Persson’s bellows and a luminous flame at the heart of it all. Cult of Luna are nothing if not expressive, as every note holds its own against the next becoming a symphony of ideas that coalesce into the wondrous climax of the song as though a star has exploded in the night sky.
