Cult Of Luna

Photo: Calle Eklund/V-wolf / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

CountrySweden
Formed1998
StatusActive
GenrePost-metal, Sludge metal
LabelMetal Blade Records, Indie Recordings

Cult Of Luna are the Swedish band from Umeå who shaped post-metal with long, slow-building records such as Salvation, Somewhere Along the Highway and The Long Road North. Formed in 1998, they have released nine studio albums, most recently The Long Road North in 2022.

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Cult of Luna formed in Umeå, Sweden, in 1998 from the remains of the hardcore band Eclipse. Their self-titled debut album was released by Rage of Achilles in 2001.

The band then signed with Earache Records, which released The Beyond (2003), Salvation (2004), Somewhere Along the Highway (2006) and Eternal Kingdom (2008). Original vocalist Klas Rydberg left before the next album, and guitarists Johannes Persson and Fredrik Kihlberg took over vocal duties.

Vertikal followed in 2013 on Indie Recordings, and in 2016 the band released Mariner, a full collaboration with American vocalist Julie Christmas. Cult of Luna signed with Metal Blade Records in 2019 and released A Dawn to Fear that year, followed by the EP The Raging River in 2021 on their own label, Red Creek.

The Long Road North was released on February 11, 2022, through Metal Blade, with guest contributions from saxophonist Colin Stetson. The band’s tenth studio album, In the Shadow of Your Shadow, is scheduled for release on November 6, 2026, via Red Creek, with guest appearances from Gojira’s Joe Duplantier and David Eugene Edwards.

Current line-up: Johannes Persson (vocals, guitar), Fredrik Kihlberg (guitar, vocals), Andreas Johansson (bass), Thomas Hedlund (drums), Kristian Karlsson (keyboards, vocals), Magnus Lindberg (guitar, percussion)