CULT OF LUNA Shares New Single 'A Way Back' From Upcoming 'In The Shadow Of Your Shadow' Album

Sweden's post-metal titans CULT OF LUNA have shared their stunning, slow-burning new single "A Way Back" off their forthcoming new — and tenth — album "In The Shadow Of Your Shadow", due out November 6 via RED CRK Recordings.

"I often find myself trying to describe a recurring feeling, the sensation of being lost, trapped, or both, and the struggle to find a way out," explains CULT OF LUNA co-vocalist and guitarist Fredrik Kihlberg of one of the album's most hushed yet powerful moments. "A way back to yourself, to a safe space, or simply finding a way to make it through when anxiety overwhelms you: at its core, that's what this song is about."

"A Way Back" follows the album's crushing, visceral title track and lead single, which earned support from Metal Injection, Brooklyn Vegan, Kerrang!, New Noise Magazine, The PRP, Lambgoat, The Line Of Best Fit, and many more.

There's no limit to CULT OF LUNA's creative vision. Inspired by artists from hardcore, sludge metal, folk, art-rock and beyond, the Swedish luminaries are revered as one of the heaviest and most restless bands in alternative music. Their new, tenth studio album, "In The Shadow Of Your Shadow", is another bold leap into the black: possibly the darkest release to bear their name, yet full of ideas that show they're still peerless 25 years since debuting.

Hailing from Umeå — home to fellow, legendary innovators MESHUGGAH and REFUSED — CULT OF LUNA built an ardent fanbase with their self-titled album (2001) and "The Beyond" (2003),before "Salvation" (2004) catapulted them to global acclaim. The raw, dusty but vast "Somewhere Along The Highway" (2006) won Sweden's prestigious the "P3 Guld" award from radio station P3 for "Best Rock/Metal Album Of The Year", inspiring the members to fully embrace their metal side for 2008's crushing "Eternal Kingdom".

Each subsequent project added new shades to their sound. "Vertikal" (2013) took influence from industrial cityscapes, whereas Julie Christmas team-up "Mariner" (2016) was a space-metal rocket ride which got nominated for a Swedish Grammis award. "A Dawn To Fear" (2019) was their longest standalone album to date, and "The Long Road North" (2022) featured contributions from musician/actor Mariam Wallentin and "Hereditary" composer Colin Stetson.

The band have also collaborated with such beloved musicians as GODFLESH's Justin Broadrick (who remixed "Vicarious Redemption" for 2013's "Vertikal II" EP) and SCREAMING TREES' Mark Lanegan (guest vocalist on "Inside Of A Dream" from 2021's "The Raging River" EP),as well as curating their own, genre-busting festival Beyond The Redshift.

"Stagnation is the only thing that scares me," states singer/guitarist/co-founder Johannes Persson. "I've said this in every interview I've done for the past 25 years: I don't care whether or not people think we're repeating ourselves. As long as we feel like we aren't, we will continue to do this."

A more-than-worthy addition to their dynamic canon, "In The Shadow Of Your Shadow" is a 71-minute monolith: a stark rejection of trends, convention and pandering to one's audience. Lyrically, it channels recent experiences of loss into a bleak set of songs. The title track and lead single is about feelings thought to be long buried, returning after something painful occurs. It takes the perspective of this anguish and characterizes it as a parasite: "His body is weak, the cracks will fit me. A disfigured form, I will complete it."

"We all have our history, we all have our baggage," Persson explains. "Everything that you've gone through leads you to where you are right now. It's a boring cliché, but it's true. There were certain things that I thought I'd left behind, and certain events during the last couple of years have brought them back. When you put the lid on things for decades, it's interesting to see how they come back. This parasite is back again."

The record features guest appearances from Joe Duplantier, frontman of Grammy-winning extreme metal titans GOJIRA, and David Eugene Edwards of 16 HORSEPOWER and WOVENHAND.

"What I like about Joe is that he has a very particular voice," says Persson. "I think it's one of the reasons why GOJIRA stand out as the metal giants that they are. It has its own unique character and would stand out even if you put him next to a hundred or a thousand other vocalists."

"David has been a huge influence for years," says Persson. "I've been a huge fan of 16 HORSEPOWER, his solo projects and WOVENHAND for decades. His voice fits perfectly on the song and it carries the subject matter with conviction."

Co-produced together with Daniel Berglund and mixed by Magnus Lindberg, "In The Shadow Of Your Shadow" is another evolutionary effort from a band who refuse to stand still. It's devastating and diverse, and it cements their place as trailblazers.

"In The Shadow Of Your Shadow" track listing:

01. In The Shadow Of Your Shadow
02. Sadness Will Reign (feat. Joe Duplantier)
03. Landby
04. Breach
05. The Rift
06. A Way Back
07. One More Day (feat. David Eugene Edwards)
08. From Grey To Black
09. Burial

Photo credit: Chad Michael Ward