HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: The Beyond – Cult Of Luna

CULT OF LUNA arguably reside in the higher echelons of post-metal; in the twenty-five years since forming, they’ve churned out some of the most atmospherically dense and cathartic music the genre has ever produced, with last year’s The Long Road North marking some of their strongest ever music. But it wasn’t always this way. Back in 2003, the band were signed to Earache Records; once the home of genre pioneers CARCASS, NAPALM DEATH, BOLT THROWER and more, their name now is more associated with alleged misconduct and mistreatment of bands and churning out substandard radio rock.

Why does 2003 matter? Well, it’s when CULT OF LUNA unveiled their second album The Beyond, one that while it still showed a knack for their long-form song-writing given it clocks in at a whopping 74 minutes, was yet a far cry from their now near-legendary status. The Beyond, in itself, occupies an interesting place in the band’s history; their second record following their debut self-titled, it sits before 2004’s breakout Salvation and 2006’s beloved Somewhere Along The Highway. In that respect, it’s very much the awkward middle child, the step between their beginnings, and the start of their genre dominance.

It’s the sound of a band that arguably, don’t know what they want to sound like yet. Despite this – or perhaps precisely because of this – it’s got a special place in many fans’ hearts. While the ISIS (the band) and NEUROSIS influences are far more pronounced, it’s easy to chalk that up to the band being in their infancy, experimenting with their sound and discovering who they were. Arguably, without this awkward, yet prolific, period between 2001 and 2008 in which they released a staggering five albums, we wouldn’t have the CULT OF LUNA we know and love today. 

While the band have remained staunchly tight-lipped in interviews about any political stance, eagle-eyed and devoted fans will note that Umeå’s hardcore scene was known for its politically left leanings and with the band being rooted in that same scene, along with the odd comment here or there over the years from various members, it’s possible to piece together a rough picture that the band themselves might lean that way, so seeing such a lurch to the right and more strict, almost totalitarian measures being installed in previously more liberal countries must have been particularly eye-opening and infuriating. 

All of that is to say, there’s a good reason The Beyond sounds like it does. The band were still reeling from the breakup of Umeå hardcore band ECLIPSE that led to their own formation; in the wider context, the entire western world was still reeling from the terror attacks of 9/11 less than two years prior. Both things led to a pressure cooker effect, and the lyrical themes of dissatisfaction with authority and disobedience were only amplified, especially given the seemingly likely views of the band themselves (though we’d like to point out this isn’t to put words in anyone’s mouth). 

What’s far more concrete is the album’s sound, where it shows clear development, divergence from their debut and a push towards the tones of today. Where their self-titled debut, released in 2001, drew heavily from post-hardcore and sludge without a whiff of the progressive overtones they display today, instead relying often on heavy repetition as much as bludgeoning heft, The Beyond still does a lot of that but is far more reflective and reaches further tonally. Slowing down the pace to the mid-tempo fans have become accustomed to, introducing a cleaner production and upping the emphasis on creating bigger soundscapes; The Beyond reaches, as the name suggests, beyond their start point.

The washes of keys, synths and strings are incorporated more fully, while the uptick in production values allowed them to create a more densely layered album, with accentuated melody lines as well as the more grating, battering heaviness. The sludge isn’t entirely gone, of course; it’s no To Be Remembered, but they do still deploy it with force amidst the exploration, like with first full song Receiver that brings the hammer down hard and heavy. 

If there’s a song that points best to the CULT OF LUNA of today, it’s The Watchtower; a song so beloved that it’s retained its spot in the setlist two decades later. Bouncing between what are effectively two riffs, even with an identifiable chorus – a rarity for the Swedes – with various strings and noise elements piled on the top, it’s an easy early career highlight that showed exactly what the band could be capable of. Given time and patience, the band would eventually start churning out back-to-back near-masterpieces; from Vertikal (2013) to Mariner (2016) to A Dawn To Fear (2019) to The Long Road North (2022), all of which retained their own unique single identity while still sharing a common thread that started in 2003. 

We mentioned earlier that it’s something of an odd record in their discography, and that remains true. Not quite sludge, post-hardcore or post-metal, and something of a mixed bag that gets more than a little long in the tooth in its second half, The Beyond is not the perfect album and perhaps second only to their self-titled effort as a wildcard pick for the most dedicated. But there’s simply no arguing against the shifts that happened on that record and the atmosphere they captured.

The Beyond was originally released on February 10th, 2003 via Earache Records.

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