Review by Xephyr for Cult of Luna - The Raging River (2021)
The Victory Lap
I feel like an odd man out as a Cult of Luna fan who vastly prefers their newer and darker material over their more minimalist earlier albums like Somewhere Along the Highway. Mariner didn't quite do it for me either, despite the praise that Julie Christmas gets for pulling Cult of Luna in a different direction. Whatever they managed to do on A Dawn to Fear, however, captured my attention in a way that eventually led me to admit that it was, and still is, exactly what I want out of heavier Post-Metal. The atmosphere is just right and Cult of Luna are able to layer so many distinct parts on top of one another that all somehow harmonize together in an extremely unique way. The Raging River is very much a direct extension of A Dawn To Fear and while I couldn't be happier, these 4 extra songs don't offer anything particularly interesting outside of being solid modern Cult of Luna tracks.
The percussion and production surrounding it is as impressive as its ever been, flexing its dual-drummers in subtle but awesome ways throughout the tracks. It helps to drive home the buildup in "Wave After Wave" and add a ton of depth to "Three Bridges" using wood blocks and xylophone of all things, as well as creating some incredible grooves that only Cult of Luna seem to be able to pull off. The layered chugging and riffing is pretty much a carbon copy from A Dawn To Fear, although it seems like they opted for a bit more electronics in the foreground this time around, which is an interesting development that didn't necessarily do a whole lot for me. It sounds great on the transition towards the middle of "Three Bridges", but proceeds to meander around too much for the rest of the album. The riff on the shorter "What I Leave Behind" is also killer, rivaling some of their best groove-work to date.
As someone who loves the modern Cult of Luna style, there's no way that I wasn't going to enjoy this album. It's definitely less inspired and poignant than its predecessor, but if this is the kind of product that Cult of Luna can churn out without having a crazy, creative epiphany, then it's apparent how great they've become at writing stellar music. It's a shame that the Mark Lanegan feature was boiled down into a seemingly minimal effort ballad piece, especially since it ruins the album flow for me personally, but it's still neat to see Cult of Luna collaborating with other major artists.