Cult Of Luna (30.11.-1)

Cult Of Luna

Švedi Cult of Luna so verjetno eden prvih bendov, ki so me zares povlekli v t.i. dark&heavy hardcore musko. Nad zadnjo ploščo 'Salvation' sicer nisem bil najbolj navdušen, ampak 's/t' in zlasti 'The Beyond' sta bili ljubezen na prvi pogled, ogromen navdih in nasploh večni zvočni užitek. Mi je kar malce žal, da si nisem izmislil še kaj več vprašanj...
Ivo.

-Hi there! How's it going?
I'm good. Right now I am in the studio working on the new album.

-Please tell me something about yourself. Are you in the band from the very beginning? If so, how did it all started? How different is the band today from your primal 'dreams'?
I (Johannes), Klas and another guy (that quit after a few months) started the band but Erik and Magnus got involved almost instantly so you could say that we are the founding members. Klas and I had played in another band called Eclipse and after we split up we wanted to do something more challenging so we started Cult of Luna. After practising 3 times we recorded our first demo, that we in late 98 early 99.
Musically we are very much different from our first demos and albums but I would say that our intentions in trying to explore new musical ground haven't changed at all. The album we are finishing now sounds completely different, almost like another band, if you compare it to the first album but if you listen to all the albums I am sure you'll be able to find a evolutionary line that have lead us from where we were to where we are now.



-What was going on before Cult of Luna? Some of you were in a hardcore band Eclipse; sxe and vegan movement was huge, especially in your hometown Umea. How do you look on those days? It seems like everything disappeared when Refused called it quit.
That period was the most interesting period of my life. The musical and political scene was very vibrant and I learnt a lot both artistically and intellectually. In retrospect it was infested with a lot of naivety but changed the political climate in Sweden forever and almost all the successful bands from Umea have their roots in the hardcore scene. I don't think that the break up of Refused had any major impact of the scene because there were a lot of bands that was involved and Refused wasn't thought of as the 'godfathers' of hardcore as much as people from outside seem to think.

-How is the Umea scene these days?
It is pretty much dead I think. To be honest I don't know. There are a lot of successful bands coming from Umea but the scene is not what it used to be. Musically we are very far from each other but we all have our roots in the Umea hardcore scene. Cult of Luna, the Perishers, Deportees, Isolation years, the international noise conspiracy and Khoma are all bands that have members that have been involved in the hardcore scene. I guess that there still a hardcore scene alive here but like I said I haven't been a part of it for many years. I guess that everyone started to play crustpunk or something.

-Where did your band's name come from ? Cult of Luna? What kind of cult is this?
It's a name that we thought would fit the atmosphere of the band and in the same time keep a reference point of where we are from.

-How do you feel being on a label with such a rich metal history?
To honest I don't think of it much. Earache has released a lot of great bands and amazing albums. Entombed, At the gates, Carcass, Sleep and Cathedral are all example of bands that have big part of the rock/metal history, but history means nothing. Personally I haven't heard anything good coming out from Earache in many years but that have probably more to do with me not being found of metal and grind then the quality of the material that Earache release.



-'Salvation' is way more mellow and postrock-ish oriented than your previous efforts. What were your fans reactions?
As always when it comes to change, a few people don't like it but I must say that the over all reaction have been positive. With every album we have released it feel like we have taken one step further but with this new album we have taken two steps. I guess that the audience will probably be even more polarized after it has been released. We will definitely loose fans but maybe we will get some new once too.

-Can you explain your record's title and where does your lyrical inspiration come from?
The whole concept on salvation is about a man and how he starts to see the world in a whole new perspective. This leads to the realization that he will sooner or later be crushed under the weight of guilt and responsibilities that comes with it. It is about him and how he seeks deliverance from his existence since it becomes harder and harder for him to live with the truth.

-What was the case with the empty booklet? What happened to the lyrics?
It just looks better. It was an aesthetic decision; the lyrics can be downloaded at www.cultofluna.com.



-I've heard you're already writing new songs. What can we expect?
Yes, like I told you in the answers above, we are almost done with the new album. In a week or two we will announce the title of the album and the songs but so far I can tell you that it is much more extreme then anything we have ever done before, no idea have been too strange to try. I think that the most obvious change is that it is much more instrumental, the songs are longer and I sing the lead vocals on a few tracks.

-Some of you guys also play in a band Koma. Could you please tell me something about that band?
I and Fredrik (The new member of Cult of Luna) play in a band that was earlier known as Koma, because of legal reasons we had to change the name to Khoma. We have a new album coming out on Roadrunner records this spring that is called 'The second wave' and I definitely think that it is worth checking out.

-Any last words?
Thank you for the interview. I just hope we can come to Slovenia sometime this year. I have been there once and it was of the most beautiful countries I have ever seen so I would love to come back.

www.cultofluna.com