Cult of Luna - The Long Road North (2022) Hi-Res

Swedish post-metal luminaries CULT OF LUNA may well boast the most enviable run of form of any band of the 21st century. There isn’t a bad record in their discography, with their three most recent full-lengths held by many as modern masterpieces. Last year’s The Raging River EP was no exception, its near-40-minute runtime delivering on all the band’s usual awe-inspiring force. It marked a swift follow-up to 2019’s staggering A Dawn To Fear LP – part of a prolific streak which now continues with The Long Road North. For vocalist/guitarist Johannes Persson, this album concludes the journey of its immediate predecessors. It’s a work of weighty catharsis – about finding a way out of the ‘emotional chaos’ charted on those two records. Will it succeed? Silly question.

The Long Road North delivers in spades on all the thunder and fury we’ve long come to expect from CULT OF LUNA. Opener Cold Burn sets a powerful precedent, its propulsive forward motion making almost ten minutes feel like half that. Like the record as a whole, it ticks a lot of what you might call typical CULT OF LUNA boxes. Dynamic, atmospheric, crushing – it’s all these things and more, but crucially never feels like a band going through the motions. This is post-metal at its finest: music that asks a lot of its listeners and rewards those who persevere accordingly. At 69 minutes in length it’s quite the undertaking, but at no point does it risk losing its way.

One theme that hangs heavy over this record is the inspiration of nature and the environment, this driven specifically by Persson’s recent return to northern Sweden where the band first formed. As well as influencing his lyrics, you can often feel it in the music too. At their heaviest, CULT OF LUNA evoke nature as an unforgiving force – one to be feared and revered above all. Elsewhere, such as on second single Into The Night, and to an extent Full Moon which follows it, they capture more of a cold and quiet desolation, as though soundtracking a slow glide over vast expanses of the unknown. It’s evocative, immersive stuff, even for a band who’ve always had an air of the elemental about them.

As has become their wont, CULT OF LUNA find themselves a few collaborators on The Long Road North. The first of these – Swedish vocalist Mariam Wallentin – appears on the brief yet stunning third track Beyond I. This is arguably where the album morphs from a great CULT OF LUNA record into another truly remarkable one. Turning away from the crushing metallic weight of the opening couple of tracks, the band find a different kind of menace here, backing Wallentin’s haunting melodic vocals with subtle keys and textures. It conjures a strong sense of atmosphere which carries on into the firm highlight of An Offering To The Wild. This one features another guest – namely Colin Stetson, who’s perhaps best known for his work on the Hereditary OST. As you might expect, it’s an expansive, cinematic piece, one which builds to a cacophonous and chaotic conclusion over a sprawling near-13-minute runtime.

Of course, the quality doesn’t dip for a second on The Long Road North. As the record progresses, its many dynamic peaks and troughs make for an utterly enthralling journey. Things come to something of a head with eighth track Blood Upon Stone – a climactic, apocalyptic piece which sees the band joined by guitarists Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz of French indie rockers PHOENIX. After that, as listeners are left to wind down with Beyond II – again featuring Stetson – it’s clear CULT OF LUNA have done it again. Even by their supremely lofty standards, The Long Road North is yet another triumph for the band. Nearly 70 minutes feels like no time at all, with the album working best when given your undivided attention. Once it’s over, you’ll no doubt be quick to take this ‘long road’ all over again.