Swedish band Cult Of Luna return with an atmospheric live DVD filmed at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris. The DVD captures the intensity of their live performance at the intimate venue, the heavy back lighting adding to the industrial tones of the band's music.
The Sweep and Light Chaser make for an eerie opening. Set against roaming white light, the shadowy figure of Johannes Persson lets out his otherworldly screams. It's dark, intriguing and absorbing. The tight close-ups, ariel views and long shots are perfectly cut together to highlight the intensity of the music on display.
Running at nearly 2 hours this is a full on show that immerses you into their diverse musical world. Their music may be lengthy and repetitive, but you never lose focus or wander away; there's just too much going on. In many ways, their it's is quite cinematic, like a soundtrack that underscores a scene as it builds to a crescendo. Fritz Lang's classic Metropolis was a huge influence on the album Vertikal and when music from throughout their career is positioned side by side, the whole show has the aural quality of a movie score. Marching To The Heartbeats from the 2006 album Somewhere Along The Highway is a perfect example of this scale, it could almost be straight out of a David Lynch film for its ethereal use of vocals, resonance and wailing guitars. It also highlights the band's progressive nature and top class musicianship.
Harsh Scandinavian death metal vocals aside, the band are more akin to the progressive side of the metal genre than the atonal. Dim, followed by Dark City, Dead Man bring the album to an energised and satisfying conclusion of music that waxes and wanes like the phases of the moon.
Groupie Rating 4/5
