There’s gotta be a start to every trajectory of a soul-crushing sonic chronicle. The Liverpool-based post-sludge metal overlords Mairu had just started embarking on their subliminal journey through their debut LP entitled Sol Cultus (Trepanation Recordings).
The trajectory of the Greek sludge/post-metal unit Allochiria’s career started pretty long ago in 2008. To this day, they have released a self-titled EP and three full-length LPs to note. While being strong on post-metal coded slow-paced progressions, they also incorporate a touch of hardcore nuance manifested by how vocalist Irene presents inclement blackened growls on their songs. And, so, they are back on releasing a full-length, which is also their third one, titled Commotion via Venerate Industries.
As someone who also tours, it is always a treat when a familiar band is playing in the city you are in when you happen to be on your day off. This time it was Cult of Luna, in Stuttgart, Germany. And to say that I was lucky on this, would be an understatement, as Cult of Luna delivered and learning of the existence of Svalbard UK was an extra treat.
Press on, intrepid reader, to find out our top albums of 2022, as voted for by the cast, crew and hangers-on of the good ship Ghost Cult. Over 275 albums were nominated (including one stray and errant vote for Stryper… we’ve had words), some people lauded albums as the greatest of all time that no one else noticed, other albums picked up a steady stream of votes across the board without tickling the top of anyone’s charts, but through it all, we’ve been able to compile our team list of the best 75 albums of the year. And there are some absolute corkers, here. 75 of them, to be exact…
Cult of Luna will return to Europe in 2023 for a co-headlining tour with the infamous Russian Circles. Svalbard will provide direct support. The band has also just released a 25-minute-video of their 2022 touring adventures. Check it out here:
Nuclear Blast Records have been on somewhat of a roll recently, releasing big new albums from the likes of Machine Head, Soulfly, and Behemoth in recent weeks. But one of their lesser-known bands Irist certainly deserve some attention, and their new EP Gloria (Nuclear Blast) is the first new music they’ve released since their debut album Order Of The Mind arrived in 2020.
Arctangent Festival is closing in on a sellout for their comeback festival later this month. The fest has now added new acts such as Scalping, Famyne, Outlander, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Cryptic Shift, Ogives Big Band, to the weekend. The fest already features headliners Opeth, Cult of Luna, and TesseracT as headliners, and has now added the updated festival map and clashfinder for fans to make use of!
One of the more leftfield collaborations of 2022 so far, see’s French electro maestro Perturbator (aka James Kent) purveyor of heavily eighties-influenced dark-wave join forces with Johannes Persson, vocalist/guitarist and principle songwriter for Swedish post-metal innovators Cult Of Luna. The collaboration first bared fruit early in 2020 as Holland’s Roadburn Festival, the legendary celebration of heavy and experimental music offered Perturbator and Johannes the opportunity to collaborate with a specially commissioned live performance.
Arctangent Festival already has one of THE line ups for 2022 festivals, and today they announce the very final new band additions for the event, as well as move TesseracT up to main stage headliner status. The fest already features headliners Opeth, Cult of Luna, and more. For the FULL list of newly added bands and artists being announced for ATG Festival today:
After making their debut performance at Roadburn this past weekend, Final Light has released their debut track, of the same name. Featuring James Kent of Perturbator and Johannes Persson of Cult of Luna, the pair will release their eponymous debut album on June 24th! The music is a captivating blend of atmospherics and synthwave. Pre-orders are live now at their Bandcamp page. Check out the first single now! Continue reading