CULT OF LUNA To Release 'Vertikal' Album Next Year

Swedish "art rockers" CULT OF LUNA will release their first studio album in five years, "Vertikal", in early 2013. The CD is said to be thematically influenced by the film "Metropolis", a hypnotic backdrop of machinery and repetition.

Commented the band: "Before we started writing, we were keen to find a theme that in a very direct way could be shown through the music, and we hope to have achieved this. We developed clear structures — very linear, refusing to over complicate the writing process.

"We realize fans have been waiting for what seems like an age for us to return to the live arena properly, but we were not keen on playing shows before we had the new material ready. There have been changes, and we wanted to come back on our own terms with something completely new. It is very important for us to transpose the idea of a new album into the live setting, to not tread water, and to include the fans in what we’ve been working on; you will be hearing this very soon."

CULT OF LUNA will launch a European headlining tour on January 17 in Hamburg, Germany.

Jan. 17 - Hamburg, Knust
Jan. 18 - Luxembourg, Kulturfabrik
Jan. 19 - Glasgow, Ivory Blacks
Jan. 20 - Sheffield, Corporation
Jan. 21 - Wolverhampton, Slade Rooms
Jan. 22 - London, The Garage
Jan. 24 - Paris, Le Divan Du Monde
Jan. 25 - Vannes, L'Echonova
Jan. 26 - Bordeaux, Le Krakatoa
Jan. 27 - Bilbao, Sonora
Jan. 28 - Lisbon, Paradise Garage
Jan. 29 - Porto, Hard Club
Jan. 30 - Madrid, Caracol
Jan. 31 - Barcelona, Razzmatazz 3
Feb. 01 - Beaumont, Le Tremplin
Feb. 02 - Karlsruhe, Stadtmitte

Festival appearances:

Apr. 20 - Tilburg, Roadburn Festival
May 03 - Wroclaw, Asymmetry Festival

Tickets for all headlining shows will go on sale on Monday, October 8.

CULT OF LUNA released a hardback book/audiobook called "Eviga Riket" on February 23, 2010 via C.O.L Press. According to the band, the book is "a short story covering the life and times of Mr. Holger Nilsson, the full story behind the 'Eternal Kingdom' [CULT OF LUNA's latest album] theme. The book will be bilingual, written in Swedish and translated into English. The narrated versions of this short story is accompanied by newly written CULT OF LUNA pieces and soundscapes."

CULT OF LUNA's DVD, "Fire Was Born", was released in April 2009 via Earache Records). Along with an epic live show recorded on July 1, 2008 at Scala in London, England, the disc — which was mixed, edited and designed by the band — features footage of mainman Johannes Persson and Anders Teglund (keyboards) answering questions from fans all around the world and the videos for "The Watchtower", "Leave Me Here" and "Back To Chapel Town".