Album Review: Cult Of Luna - Vertikal

Album six sees Cult Of Luna depart from the myth-making of 2008's Eternal Kingdom to embrace the presence of the modern condition – all the while filtering it thematically through the concept of Fritz Lang's cinematic opus, Metropolis. There are, however, no clumsy tributes here. Every detail, right down to the cover art's abstract rendering of Metropolis' original theatrical poster, is executed with great potency and maturity.  

A synaesthesiac meditation on industry and the synthesis of straight lines, Vertikal is a timely offering that explores, both thematically and practically, the idea of localised conditions in the face of the greater cosmic expanse. They retain the fundamental 'essence' of the band, yet they depart from past trajectories and embark on innovative and expansive explorations that look out beyond static proximities. When technological advancement alleviates dogma and architectural ascensions figuratively perform as vertical blinds, perspectives are permitted a multiplicity of realignments in order to gaze between dualities and, as uttered on In Awe Of, “[shift] focus onto a majestic void”. And through contrasting palettes of ominous beauty, Vertikal does certainly contemplate the void with majestic expression. Ambient soundscapes play host to weighty structures which rise out of the former and mount in tension through the process of their own violent outpouring. Vicarious Redemption is not only their longest piece thus far, but also one of the most considered; like much of the album, the synths play a more predominant role compositionally, inviting a dynamism that is essential to the potent conveyance of the chosen subject matter. 

Subtly contemplative, explicitly primal and all manner of paradoxes between, Vertikal is a sophisticated work that furthers Cult Of Luna's position among the foremost visionaries in their field.