Anyone familiar with the heavier side of Swedish music will likely have heard of the little town of Umeå, home town of thrash metal legends Meshuggah, but they are hardly the only band to hail from this hot spot of musical talent. Cult of Luna are another heavy band from the little town in North Sweden, but aside from these two things Cult of Luna are an entirely different beast from Meshuggah. Cult of Luna are heavily influenced by the doom/sludge sound which has been growing in popularity the past few years, and they fit nicely into the new genre dubbed post metal by music critics. This makes Cult of Luna a musical cousin of bands like Isis, Rwake, or fellow Nordics Callisto.

Cult of Luna have just released their fifth studio album, titled Eternal Kingdom, in their native Sweden, and will be releasing it in North America next week. I haven’t had the opportunity to hear it yet, but based on previous albums like Salvation or Somewhere Along the Highway I expect it will be an awesomely dark album. Supposedly the plot of the album was inspired by a journal the band found on the site of an old mental institution, which contained the ravings and hallucinations of a madman. I’ve heard similar stories before, so I’m a little dubious as to the veracity of the band’s story, but it sounds like an interesting premise nonetheless.

1. “Owlwood” - 7:39
2. “Eternal Kingdom” - 6:41
3. “Ghost Trail” - 11:50
4. “The Lure (Interlude)” - 2:33
5. “Mire Deep” - 5:10
6. “The Great Migration” - 6:32
7. “Österbotten” - 2:19
8. “Curse” - 6:30
9. “Ugín” - 2:44
10. “Following Betulas” - 8:56

When the album is released in North America, it should be available from all the big retailers like Amazon and quite possibly your local record store.

New Album

The Icelandic phenomenon Sigur Rós just released their new album Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust today. Með Suð, for short (or Med Sud as it’s being called by many online retailers who are not familiar with the letter eth) is now available in Europe and will be released tomorrow in North America. For complete album info including credits, detailed artwork, reviews, videos and more, check out the Með Suð discography page.

At first listen, Með Suð is a bit less ethereal than the band’s past albums, but it is still identifiably a Sigur Rós record. You can listen to the entire album streaming online from SigurRos.com right now. And because of the band’s popularity, you should be able to find their new album in any decent music store and website like Amazon.com if you like it.

Tracklist for Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust
01. Gobbledigook
02. Inní Mér Syngur Vitleysingur
03. Góðan Daginn
04. Við Spilum Endalaust
05. Festival
06. Suð Í Eyrum
07. Ára Bátur
08. Illgresi
09. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All Alright

World Tour

Sigur Rós is currently on a world tour, and they just recently announced new dates for a more extensive North American tour beginning in mid-September. The American dates are listed below, and you can check the tour page on the band’s website for all dates around the world.

Sigur Rós - North American tour dates
september 17 - united palace, new york city, new york, usa
september 18 - united palace, new york city, new york, usa
september 19 - bank of america pavillion, boston, massachusetts, usa
september 20 - quai jacques cartier, montreal, quebec, canada
september 22 - massey hall, toronto, ontario, canada
september 23 - fillmore, detroit, michigan, usa
september 24 - chicago theatre, chicago, illinois, usa
september 25 - orpheum, minneapolis, minnesota, usa
september 27 - morrison red rocks theatre, denver, colorado, usa
september 28 - saltair, salt lake city, utah, usa
september 30 - the marquee, tempe, arizona, usa
october 1 - copley, san diego, california, usa
october 2 - the greek theatre, los angeles, california, usa
october 3 - the greek theatre, berkeley, california, usa
october 5 - benaroya hall, seattle, washington, usa
october 6 - arlene schnitzer theatre, portland, oregan, usa
october 7 - the chan centre, vancouver, canada

Finnish industrial metal band Turmion Kätilöt are well known to many, both for their addictively catchy heavy metal and for their outlandish stage shows. Despite legal difficulties with current (former?) label Spinefarm, Turmion Kätilöt have released their third full length studio album U.S.C.H. last week, free of charge from new label Raha Records. For those who are fans of the band’s last album Pirun nyrkki the very heavy combinations of electronics and metal will be a welcome addition to their musical library, and for those who aren’t, there’s no better time (or price!) to get to know what might just become your new favourite band!