Somewhere Along the Highway

This album is as good a place as any to start listening to CoL. If you have any of their other albums, just buy this one already and quit reading reviews. All of their albums build and build, until reaching the apex, which will leave you fully rocked and your face melted... but you will come back, oh yes... you will be back. My personal favorite album by CoL is Salvation, it is the equivalent of Panopticon by Isis, for me. All albums by both bands are incredibly enjoyable, I just recommend those two with gusto, and laud them with praise. They are the "bees knees", if you will. For fans of Mouth of the Architect, Neurosis, Isis, Pelican, Animals as Leaders, Jesu (to a lesser extent), Red Sparrowes, Russian Circles, Rosetta, and really anyone with an open mind toward their tunes. Enjoy!

As an avid listener of good music ranging from Circa-Survive, to Mugwai, to Mastodon, these guys have built something so good and genuine, it's no wonder it can pass under the radar in some areas. This album would fall under the genre of post-rock/post-metal/space rock, and even if you dare, I'd call it something of Avante-Garde. If you're looking for something to receive massive radio play, you can leave now. This is for people who genuinely respect music. The first track opens with the atmospheric and dark-ambient prelude "Marching to the Heartbeats". Nothing short of a great song, with whispered vocals that truely envoke the concept Cult of Luna tried to achieve with "male loneliness". With overlapping synthesizers and a melodic tune, it doesn't even prepare you for the next track. "Finland" is a crushing metal symphony with very little of his growling, angry vocals and more over, progressive guitars to build a dark and evil atmospheric tone. Has anyone ever heard the opening song "Oblivion" by Mastodon? Think that sinister vibe for about ten minutes. Not a song you'll get bored to at all. "Back to Chapel Town" takes you on a slightly different road, as you've probably heard with the twist to Finland from Marching to the Heartbeats. It opens very quietl with the synthesizers, and guitars to give it an air like the aftermath of something devastating. The part in the movie where everything slows down. The part where the main hero cries as he sees ashes falling from the sky. It then gains a motivational grip that amplifies into deep, deafeaning vocalism that empowers the entire song, moreover it's climax. Afterwards, for about three minutes, it recollapses itself into its dark-ambience beginning, then fades. "And With Her Came the Birds"--definitely a great example of dark-ambience doing its job. It has mellow, calm vocals similar to Marching to the Heartbeats with simplistic guitar beats, in a quiet theme. The song will remind you of someone you miss. It's no crushing ballad like Back to Chapel Town, but more mellow and a break for minds of listening to guitar chords for almost twenty minutes. Gifts you with the singer's amazing voice. "ThirtyFour"--One of the ballads of the album, it opens with some heavy guitar shredding, but collapse into a militaristic like rhythm, with the drum beat leading the sound. Then the song begins its wave-complex, where it collapse into harsh, violent screaming, decrescendos and repeats the process almost twice. The background musicianship (or moreover, lack of it) while he's singing creates the ultimate effect of loneliness. A soaring song. "Dim"--you're missing the whole point of the album if you don't try this song on for size. Enough said. "Dark City, Dead Man"--one monster of a closer. It begins in an ambient sort of melody--very slow and dragged out (though not exactly boring), then builds into guitars, drums, and yelling. It clasically does this around the seven, eight minute mark, but it leaves you hanging. "Where to go from here?" It follows up with an uplifting, then depressing, than optimistic guitar finale that is truly something to be inspired by. The vocalism on this album: 9/10 Musicianship: 10/10 Originality: 10/10 Lyricism: 9/10 Listening Ability: 7/10 Lasting Effect: 9/10 Try it on, you'll like it. I guarantee it.

This album is nothing short of amazing! I have been a diehard Neurosis fan since 'Enemy of the Sun'. I am hesitant to say this however, Cult of Luna meets Neurosis' level of musicianship and may even surpass them in some areas. The discipline that this band has is unbelievable! Being a musician myself I find this band/album to be incredibly inspiring. Do yourself a favor and buy this album immediately! Prepare to be taken on a journey! As far as arguments concerning Cult of Luna vs Isis, it all boils down to personal preference. Cult of Luna has a vision that is truly remarkable! This album will be playing in my house and my vehicle for a long, long time!

This is the first Cult of Luna album for me and I am hooked. This is music to drift off into yourself to. There hasn't been an album in quite some time that has caught my ear as this one has. The combination of Isis type metal and Mogwai-ish soundscapes is beautifully combined to a satisfying whole. I can't wait to hear their other records.

This album is brilliant, i'm border line obsessed with it.

recorded in a barn outside of Umea, Sweden, cult of luna capture the essence of solitude and fear. you cant help but feel a chill run up your spine upon the first listen to "back to chapel town" and "dim" enforces the lonliness the rest of the album sets up. you can feel the tracks and the heart that went into recording them. must buy. utterly amazing, and that remark doesnt even begin to do this album justice.