{"id":31271,"date":"2013-01-28T16:18:48","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T16:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-cult-of-luna-vertikal\/"},"modified":"2018-03-11T01:29:55","modified_gmt":"2018-03-11T01:29:55","slug":"album-review-cult-of-luna-vertikal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-cult-of-luna-vertikal\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Cult Of Luna &#8211; Vertikal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"image\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/vertikal1.jpg\" title=\"\">Swedish metal band <strong>Cult Of Luna<\/strong> has, after five years of anticipation, released their sixth full-length album <em>\u2018Vertikal\u2019<\/em>. From a band that has prior released a book and audio book based on their 2008 concept album<em> \u2018Eternal Kingdom\u2019<\/em>, fans won\u2019t be surprised that <em>\u2018Vertikal\u2019<\/em> is based on the imagery of the sci-fi film &lsquo;Metropolis&rsquo;, according to the band\u2019s press release. This is not an album of instant gratification, and while the band is undoubtedly talented at what they\u2019re trying to accomplish, the feint of heart and the impatient need not apply to this monstrous undertaking of music.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s difficult to review a non-traditional album in a traditional way. <strong>Cult Of Luna<\/strong> doesn\u2019t ascribe to the \u201cverse-chorus-verse\u201d way of writing. In fact, there really are no verses or choruses. With three songs reaching past the nine-minute mark, and one almost twenty minutes long, most of this album is rich with instrumentals, with only a smattering of vocals to keep things interesting.<!-- more --><\/p>\n<p><em>\u2018Vicarious Redemption\u2019<\/em>, the epic eighteen minute song, could easily encapsulate this album\u2019s entire sound. The beginning half is full of ominous tones and percussion, an anxious mix of minimalist sound that slowly adds another instrument or tone until halfway through. The anxiety-inducing anticipation is a running thread that holds this album together, and can be found in <em>\u2018The One\u2019<\/em> and <em>\u2018Mute Departure\u2019<\/em>. The band is truly expert at cultivating emotion and setting simply through the orchestration of the instruments. It almost sounds as if a film is playing and we just aren\u2019t able to see it. It easily conjures up images and possible storylines.<\/p>\n<p>The middle of <em>\u2018Vicarious Redemption\u2019<\/em> breaks into heavy screaming and slightly frenzied guitars, with fast-paced drums that shows off the band\u2019s metal chops. The band\u2019s metal roots also shine in <em>\u2018In Awe Of&rsquo;<\/em> and<em> \u2018The Sweep\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>There are moments of electronic, almost dub-step like moments in several of the songs, along with other genres peppered throughout. But just as it will take you almost twelve minutes to even get to this in <em>\u2018Vicarious Redemption\u2019<\/em>, each song holds a few gems partway through, something you must have the patience and stamina to get to. It\u2019s almost like the band is challenging you, testing how much you actually want to listen.<\/p>\n<p>By the end of <em>\u2018Vicarious Redemption\u2019<\/em>, only the third track on the hour long album, it feels like you\u2019ve already listened to an entire album. It\u2019s exhausting, but kind of brings a sense of accomplishment, that is, if you don\u2019t skip to the next song halfway through. There is tons of repetition in each song, and it\u2019s hard to toil through minutes upon minutes of the same exact thing.<\/p>\n<p>This is exactly why<em> \u2018Vertikal\u2019<\/em> is an album for fans.<strong> Cult Of Luna<\/strong> isn\u2019t a typical, traditional metal band. The scope of the band\u2019s creativity and musical talent is undeniably great but it will take an atypical, nontraditional person to truly enjoy this band\u2019s style.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>3.5\/5<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span><em>&#8216;Vertikal&rsquo;<\/em> by <strong>Cult Of Luna<\/strong> is out now on <strong>Indie Recordings<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span><strong>Cult Of Luna<\/strong> links: <a href=\"http:\/\/cultofluna.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a>|<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cultoflunamusic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span>Words by Jenny Gagas<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Swedish metal band Cult Of Luna has, after five years of anticipation, released their sixth full-length album \u2018Vertikal\u2019. From a band that has prior released a book and audio book based on their 2008 concept album \u2018Eternal Kingdom\u2019, fans won\u2019t be surprised that \u2018Vertikal\u2019 is based on the imagery of the sci-fi film &lsquo;Metropolis&rsquo;, according [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8181],"tags":[5879,3905,13581,13580],"class_list":["post-31271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-post","tag-album-reviews","tag-cult-of-luna","tag-indie-recordings","tag-vertikal"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Album Review: Cult Of Luna - Vertikal - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Swedish metal band Cult Of Luna has, after five years of anticipation, released their sixth full-length album \u2018Vertikal\u2019. 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