Cult of Luna – Vertikal

January 25, 2013 • Indie Recordings

Oh man. Oh yes. Okay... calm down... breathe... but how can I not be excited when my two favorite bands put out new albums within just a few months of each other? And there's no better way to start the year off with a bang—I've been hungrily following Vertikal's release info for months, and I'm so glad it's finally here (well, on pre-order, at least). Cult of Luna is one of those rare bands that has gotten better as they've aged; even though I frequently cite 2003's The Beyond as my favorite, their last one, 2008's Eternal Kingdom, turned out to be one of my top favorites as well. Vertikal is no different, offering more or less the same music I've grown to love, but in a ever-so-slightly different light.

Anyone familiar with anything the band has put out since Salvation is going to know basically what they're getting here: some of the heaviest, most crushing sludge metal there is, made with slow, plodding riffs that build up into a dense and oppressive atmosphere. It's all been done, of course, but Cult of Luna have long been the kings of the genre for me—perhaps it's the great variety of sounds they use, or the near-perfect songwriting they manage to keep cranking out. One of their biggest and most important strengths for me has always been writing great riffs, and it seems that the well still isn't quite dry. As on their previous effort, Cult of Luna can be somewhat melodic when they want to be, and still huge and heavy at the same time. The alienating dissonance of their debut and The Beyond are long gone, but I don't think melodicism is detracting from the band's quality at all (interestingly, it seems like after Isis' breakup that Cult of Luna has picked up a bit of their slack and some of the writing here is a bit reminiscent of Wavering Radiant in some of their softer sections). And they're often at their best when they keep things simple and catchy. One of my favorite things about the band is that at least once a song or so they pull out some groove that I can't help but stop what I'm doing and tap along or something. Take one of the album's best tracks, "In Awe Of", and how the band rides up to the climax halfway through its running time and just stay there for the rest of it; it's phenomenal. And don't forget the vocals on "Passing Through"—I've always loved their use of clean singing and since they use it so rarely it seems extra-special somehow.

Of course I have to mention Vertikal's particular "twist"—this time, it's the inclusion of lots of extra synths and electronics. Not surprisingly, it usually works well, as Cult of Luna has always injected a bit of dark pads and ambient sounds into their music; there's simply more of it this time. The band keeps things tasteful and uses them sparingly, but when they do it's effective. Synth leads aren't that unusual in their music but they take on a strong role in a few tracks, such as the solo in "I: The Weapon", the sprawling accompaniment in "Synchronicity", or the sci-fi-soundtrack interludes (especially "The Sweep").

On the other hand I can't help but feel that it's an attempt to make up for a few sections that are somewhat lackluster. There are a few moments, a few riffs here and there, that seem a bit rehashed from older material and thus don't sit with me as being particularly interesting. There are a few pacing problems, too, such as the overlong intro to "Vicarious Redemption" that seems to just pad the track out and really tries my patience. It's a problem with the band I've always seemed to have, but one that I can easily overlook. Fortunately these sort of moments don't come often, and even when they do I can still get behind the band's performance.

As I expected (and as happened with Eternal Kingdom), Vertikal is a bit of a grower. Cult of Luna's albums can often be hard to get into, but with patience it's absolutely worth it. Is it as good as their older stuff? Maybe not. As of right now, it doesn't grab me quite in the same way as I hoped it would, but it's still very solid and very enjoyable (and they haven't gone into a rut of repetitive mediocrity like Neurosis has seemed to). It'll probably grow on me like Eternal Kingdom did. (Or is that just confirmation bias? Well, who cares?) Anyone who liked any of their other albums will find the same things to like in Vertikal. Simple as that.

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