The evolution and onward development of our music is such that it has diversified to an extent that there are portions of it that whilst still operating within its confines, sound nothing like its governing parameters. Tonight’s opening acts are cases in point. Both live within the envelope of extreme/heavy music, feature within the publications that ally to that world, play the festivals and events that serve that world, and support (as it is tonight) bands that firmly sit within that world. However, neither Slow Crush nor GGGOLDD dwell within any definable definition of metal. 

What is interesting though is that the broadminded nature of Cult of Luna's obsessive fan base means that both are treated with utmost respect, and to be charitable, a healthy dose of adoration. Slow Crush take the stage to a rapidly filling room. Hailing from Belgium they are an almost reverential recreation of the “shoegaze” phenomenon that swept the indie world in the late 80s. To my aging ears, they bring to mind the much-missed Curve and the inexplicably still-going Slowdive.

 Shoegaze was always about juxtaposition. The oxymoron of melding sweet lilting refrains, with off-key distorted guitars. Slow Crush are a veritable Time Capsule. They recreate the sound with authenticity and creative zeal. They do not seek to move it on or assimilate it with other musical forms, instead, theirs is a highly reverential replication that deftly manages to capture all that was wonderful about the artful.

Like all good shoegaze, there are moments where their set is almost soporific but there are others where it feels like you are eternally trapped in a cacophony of sonic reverberations. The most interesting component, however, is that they are busy catching the imaginations of those who are too young for this to be mere nostalgia. They are forging ahead creating a whole new battalion of shoegaze devotees, and that in my book is only a good thing.

GGGOLDDD (pronounced gold) can best be described as anti-pop. They have a minimal postpunk feel to them, where all the trimmings and trappings have been stripped away to reveal the stark mechanical entrails of the songs. Even before vocalist Milena Eva reveals that their material is about her journey away from being a sexual abuse survivor, it is obvious that this is a highly personal and emotionally charged project.

There is an emotive rawness to both her delivery and their production values. Anything that gets in the way of the song's messages has been removed and we are left with a stark and at times barren musical landscape. Whilst there is nothing incendiary about their performance, its power and passion still manage to hold the attention of the listener. Not a particularly comfortable listen but it still feels vital and valid. They close with the simmering simplicity of ‘On You’, which is delivered in an off-kilter manner reminiscent of Laurie Anderson's ‘Oh Superman’. Very much not music to leap around to but still deeply affecting.

 Cult of Luna are an extraordinarily immersive live experience. Their interaction with their audience is achieved exclusively through their music. There are no "hello's”, “thank you’s” or indeed any form of pleasantries.  The only time they acknowledge our existence is when Johannes Persson wishes us a safe journey home at the end of the show. Visually the six members of the band spend almost the entirety of the performance shrouded in minimal down-tuned lights and billows of smoke. However, because of the sheer weight of the performance and the all-consuming nature of the music, it still manages to be one of the most deeply emotive and entrancing 90 minutes that I have ever witnessed.

It is so entrancing that the hour and a half (and the nine tracks featured within) passes by in an instant. There is very little here that can be described as conventional. The song structures twist and turn in a contorted manner and there is nothing as common or vulgar as verses and choruses. Instead, they feel like sprawling odysseys spiralling off in infinite directions. Every track is its own highly complex ecosystem, obviously dependent and in debt to what precedes and succeeds it (‘Lights on the Hill’ for instance merges seamlessly into the seldom-played ‘Finland)’ but still fiercely independent and uniquely sculpted.

Despite the innate complexity, there is a primal weight at play here. A pounding intensity that underpins everything. No matter how sophisticated the shifting time signatures are, they manage to retain a primordial and organic air. Johannes’ guttural grating vocal delivery grounds everything, it consciously sullies any inherent beauty and gives every one of the tracks aired a rugged and jagged appearance. Magnus Lindberg's pounding percussion combines with Thomas Hedlund’s driving drums to create a rhythmic backbone that just adds to that tribal and primeval aura. The set feels flushed with elemental passion as opposed to being pristine and overdesigned.

Two decades' worth of back catalogue means that there will always be omissions and oversights. With the pandemic prematurely curtailing promotional duties for 2019’s astounding “A Dawn to Fear”, the inclusion this evening of the aforementioned ‘Lights on the Hill’ and ‘Nightwalkers’ from that album feels as important as showcasing material from last year's sublime “The Long Road North”. 

But in many ways, Cult of Luna performances have evolved beyond being about individual songs and the abiding memory is of how they played rather than what they played. Tonight was a pressure cooker of alternating intensity, a tempestuous maelstrom of fluctuating sound that consumed the whole being of the listener. An astonishing experience that frankly I'm still trying to make sense of, but what I do know is that there is simply no band like them.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Cult Of Luna, GGGOLDDD, Slow Crush