Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas - ‘Mariner’ Album Review
Cult of Luna, from Sweden, are a band committed to making passionate and impactful music. They are pioneers of what is often labeled as post-metal music. In reality their music transcends that genre with its diversity and intriguing complexity.
Their partnership with Julie Christmas on the new album, ‘Mariner’, is quite simply inspirational, a musical match made in heaven. Julie Christmas, from New York, has the most amazing and affecting of voices. She can range from softly nuanced vocals to a strident metal scream, all imbued with a deep emotional core.
The opening track, ‘A Greater Call’, begins with the most eerie of electronic piano introductions, resonant of something right out of a John Carpenter film score. The central melody is launched by Johannes Persson’s monstrous death scream. He and Julie Christmas then provide the most evocative and atmospheric combination of death growl and beautifully melodic vocals this reviewer has ever heard. The song has a really epic sound, driven by the superb rhythm created by the twin percussionists of Thomas Hedlund and Magnus Líndberg, who sound even more phenomenal live.
‘The Wreck of S.S. Needle’ was the second single released from the album, and it just has to be one of the best songs produced by any band so far this year! Julie sings gently over a delicate synthesiser refrain, and then with some dreamy wordless sounds, launches the song into crashing guitar riffs and a mesmerising electronic and percussion marching rhythm. The song builds and builds over its nine and a half minutes, and when Julie lets free her screaming vocal, she completely matches the band for emotional intensity and melody. This is a musical tour de force that feels to be adding something highly original to metal. In its melding of electronics and metal sounds, and with Julie’s voice, the music is taken to something almost classical in its compositional nature.
Final track, ‘Cygnus’, has some great guitar work, adding all sorts of musical flourishes to the doom riven musical themes in the song. A beautiful section about a third of the way in brings down the intensity and lets Julie’s breathy vocals meander around the melody, accompanied by ambient sounding guitars and keyboards. Then the band really turn it up with everyone pushing the song to breaking point, especially with Johannes and Julie screaming in the most compelling way.
This is a great great album! Don’t let it pass you by!
Please also read Johannes’s words on the story of the album being leaked, and the emotional impact on the albums creators. You can find what he says on the bands Facebook page.
About the Author
Gareth Allen A committed metal head with a love of jazz, soul, and folk. Living in Central Scotland and attending gigs in Edinburgh and Glasgow, with it's really amazing venues. My iconic moment... being invited on stage at the Glasgow Garage, by DevilDriver's Dez Fafara!
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