Album artwork for In The Shadow of Your Shadow by Cult of Luna
An album publications will be scrambling to describe as “crushing”, “colossal” and “monolithic”, Cult of Luna take us on a dark and delicate journey towards the apex of their decades-long career, where the Swedish post-metal icons channel the emotional weight of isolation and idling presence of absence while also finding themselves in the company of many other artists in 2026 that also explored introspection following grief.
No expense or sorrow has been spared across all 9 tracks, culminating at a grand 71 minutes, an album length in itself that challenges the norm and soars past the post-metal 45-60 minute mark sweet spot, “In the Shadow of Your Shadow” is dark and powerful, yet frail and pained. A figurative crown of thorns worn with dignity rather than its intended humility.
“You cannot see me, but I am here, hiding in the shadow of your shadow”. The ever-present weight of grief that does not relent rears its head in the opening track, fittingly named after the album itself, and what it means to feel lost following the loss of what holds your world together. Traversing spaces without a guide. A hand no longer held as absence settles in your heart. In the Shadow of Your Shadow is a world-builder intended to set the tone of the entire record as it subtly lays its roots amongst absorbing walls of sound delivered by all three guitarists and impassioned cries from vocalist Johannes Persson.
Upon viewing the tracklist your eye is immediately drawn to the feature on second track, Sadness Will Reign, as Gojira’s Joe Duplantier takes up the mantle of delivering fiery vocals as an addition to a track as opposed to his usual front and centre position. In a stroke of what feels like an identity crisis, Sadness Will Reign could be mistaken for a Gojira track from the start before it is wrangled back into Cult of Luna’s signature post-metal stylings. Haunting and morose, the pairing of Duplantier and Persson on vocals is a match made in heaven, as rather than trade or fight for microphone supremacy, the pair compliment each other throughout this bleak and tragic affair as Duplantier’s voice acts as a foundation to which Persson builds upon. Despite being one of the shortest tracks on the album, it serves as the first epic of few.
Landby enters the fray as the first interlude of the album acting as the first moment of respite. Intricate in its instrumentation later led by whistling melodies, it makes way for the headstrong and trudging Breach. The first major turn of the album where the band’s signature post-metal soundings are side-lined in favour of the avant-garde as moments of reprieve are granted by major chords that break through the sombre surface, and looping keyboard motifs surround building riffs leading us to the discordant summit of Cult of Luna’s second epic. To experience two major highlights within the first 4 tracks of an album is inspiring, but it begs the question after such a twist in style, what other surprises does this album hold and will it be able to retain the magic it has created so early on?
After the slow burn of Breach its hard to know where “In The Shadow of Your Shadow” will go next. The Rift feels like a throwback when sludge rhythms take the wheel before said wheel is torn from its grasp to pick up the pace. A Way Back takes a more subdued approach echoing the wild western atmosphere of earlier interlude Landby.
At this point the cracks we’ve been blindsided by that each euphoric soundscape has been cloaking, surface more than ever as cohesion appears to be the primary issue. Swinging back and forth between sounds, each track holds its own regardless of style thanks to a more raw sounding production compared to their previous work, but beyond the same production being uniform the lack of cohesion is jarring. There’s an element that you could argue with a number of the tracks being comparative to length of a number of demos and EPs we’ve seen DIY bands drop this year, the lack of cohesion isn’t an issue as an 11-minute track managing to flow as well as it does is more than most bands could ever hope for. But “In the Shadow of Your Shadow” isn’t some modern metalcore release where a band has to focus on ticking every trope box the genre begs them to only to be enjoyed in 30-second increments for the sake of virality. Every track is a journey and has the ability to stand tall on their own but that’s not what post-metal is or should be about.
If any doubt has formed at this point it is swiftly swept away by the undercard feature of David Eugene Edwards of Wovenhand, who steals the show in One More Day injecting gothic-infused Americana creating another twisted yet sophisticated appendage to “In the Shadow of Your Shadow’s” body.
To close out the album, Burial is a haunting nihilistic being that echoes decisiveness. Despite the meandering and at times questionable path we’ve followed from the first track to the last, Burial conveys that same sense of hopelessness that overwhelms you when watching the ending of the first Saw movie for the first time. Climatic and forlorn yet resolute and futile. It’s an ending that answers any questions you have with dejected acceptance.
Uncompromising from the get-go, Cult of Luna have done what they do best in creating something that feels cinematic. Though this time round no wheel has been reinvented and it ultimately feels much safer than past releases despite a rougher, more raw production value to drive the themes of “The inescapable weight of the past lying in wait to re-emerge.” as described by Persson himself. But does a band of 25 years need to reinvent the wheel? Absolutely not. “In the Shadow of Your Shadow” though lacking in continuity and as many key moments as you’d expect of such a seasoned band, it is worth spinning for new and old fans that wish to be transported to another world, just prepare to not be as immersed as you may have been in “Somewhere Along the Highway”, “A Dawn of Fear” or even “The Long Road North.”
FFO: Neurosis, Russian Circles, Pelican, ISIS
SCORE: 6/10
In The Shadow of Your Shadow is out on Friday 6th November on all streaming platforms, released via RED CRK.
