When they released ‘Vertikal’ at the start of 2013 Cult of Luna confirmed not only that they hadn’t mellowed in the five years since ‘Eternal Kingdom’, but also that they were capable of sounding more monumental than ever. ‘Vertikal II’, its follow-up EP, has been heavily anticipated then, and more is expected than just a few random offcuts.
There’s nothing wrong with any of the material here as such, but the contentious point is whether any of the tracks would have been good enough to merit inclusion on the preceding full-length album proper.
Oro, the opener, comes closest to being an essential Cult of Luna track. It’s an interesting mix between the juddering heaviness of a new album piece like I: The Weapon and the atmospheric darkness of the album’s closer Passing Through.
The other two new tracks, Light Chaser and Shun The Chase don’t have the same level of quality about them. Light Chaser lacks the dynamic mastery associated with some of their finest moments. Shun the Chase, meanwhile, isn’t really interesting enough to justify its 12 minute length.
The final inclusion is a remix of the longest song from ‘Vertikal’, Vicarious Redemption. Given the minor controversy that erupted in some quarters as a result of the vaguely dubstep-oriented section halfway through the original, one could be forgiven for expecting Justin K. Broadrick’s remix to be pretty drop heavy.
It’s not, which is good in the sense that it’s not totally predictable, but at the same time it would have been cool to see the Godflesh and Jesu legend give the song a vibe similar to his JK Flesh project from last year. All in all this is a solid, if unspectacular, release from the Swedish legends. One for fans only, in effect.
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