review -- Cult of Luna: The Raging River

Cult of Luna

The Raging River

Red Creek Recordings

5 February 2021

They seem to attract a tremendous quantity of praise, and seem to be well liked even by casual listeners for the combination of prog and sludge, a kind of long-winded, instrumentally loquacious heaviness with growl-scream vocals. This 38-minute recording is considered an "EP," because their albums usually last longer, like the 79 minutes of 2019’s A Dawn to Fear. This is a more accessible work. One way to see it would be that the spacey prog is dialed down a bit, which in turn allows the sludge heaviness to be more present, as it were. Or at least, it feels that way to some extent. In a way, for new fans, this could function as a good introduction to the Swedish band. The duration is not too intimidating or off-putting, but still is their brand: hardcore/punk-based desperate growling scream; a big crawling caravan of chugging, simplistic heaviness peppered with proggy, spacey keyboards. This is probably as accessible as their music is ever going to be! Don’t forget to check out the mellow song “Inside of a Dream” with the guest singing of Mark Lanegan, of whom they are fans.

THE RAGING RIVER by Cult of Luna