Cult Of Luna - Eternal Kingdom

Complex and epic post-metal with a unique concept, Cult Of Luna's latest takes the listener on a strange and satisfying journey.

The latest CD from Sweden's Cult Of Luna has an interesting concept. The band rehearses in an old mental institution, and while cleaning their rehearsal room claim to have found boxes of old material from the institution. One of those items was supposedly a diary of a patient named Holger Nilsson, who murdered his wife. The strange and bizarre diary of that mental patient is what the concept and lyrics of the album are based. It's a great story and idea for an album. I'm a bit skeptical if there is an actual diary, or if the whole thing was concocted by the band, but either way it's a brilliant attention grabber for the album.

Eternal Kingdom is heavier and darker than Cult Of Luna's past few releases. Having 8 members probably makes for a crowded tour van, but it also helps create a wall of sound. Their post-metal style has thick, down tuned guitars along with keyboards and samples that create different atmospheres. The songs are periodically broken up by instrumental interludes that act as a reprieve from the intensity.

The vocals on the album are harsh yells, but there are some subtleties. Drawing on the lyrics from the diary, the delivery is sometimes angry, other times frantic and nearly out of control. It fits in well with the subject matter.

One of the highlights of the CD is "Ghost Trail," a 12 minute tour de force that showcases all of Cult Of Luna's best attributes: epic arrangements, compelling songwriting and excellent musicianship. Some of the other songs have a tendency to be repetitive, but most of the time the riffs are worth repeating. More dynamics (which they've done well on past albums) would also help.

Eternal Kingdom has its flaws, but it is still a very compelling and well constructed CD.