5. Cult of Luna – “A Dawn to Fear”

What Cult of Luna do is highly unique. Over eight distinctive records, they have developed and evolved a singular continually morphing sound. “A Dawn To Fear” manages to be aggressive and tender. It is forceful and vociferous but also has moments of reflective beauty and spiritual calm. It is those disconcerting and variable waves that makes this such an interesting and intriguing record. It has hardcore sensibility and directness, but then it drops back into pure minimalism before it scorches forward again with almost unlistenable white noise. It may seem incoherent and messy from my description, but it’s not. It’s actually a stunningly well-structured thought out record. Everything has a place, every twist and turn is there for a specific reason. Extraordinary both in its vision and in its delivery.