Swedish post-metal outfit Cult of Luna have announced that they have unfortunately been forced to cancel their upcoming European and UK tour due to COVID-19 related concerns. The band is still slated to play Beyond The Redshift Festival in London on March 12th, and their October 2022 EU tour is still going ahead. You can see all of the cancelled tour dates here.
Sorry guys…BEYOND THE REDSHIFT on March 12th and October 2022 tour are still ON. Stay safe everyone. pic.twitter.com/MhFmregD8Y
— Cult of Luna (@Cultofluna_off) January 14, 2022
The band posted a statement regarding the cancellation across their social media, saying: “We hoped that it wouldn’t come to this. You all know the situation we’re in and at the moment it’s too unsafe to tour Europe, which means that we have to cancel the February/March tour. We’re all super disappointed about this but we have to adapt to reality. These are dark times for sure but it’s important to keep in mind that people’s health and lives are the only thing that’s important- everything else can wait.”
The band added: “Pandemics happen every now and then, it’s just that our generation hasn’t experienced anything like it. As before, humanity will get through this… All tickets will be reimbursed and we will update you as soon as possible regarding new touring plans.” You can read the full statement here, or at the link above.
Despite the pandemic slowing down their touring schedule, Cult of Luna have been very prolific when it comes to releasing music as of late. Last year, the band released the E.P. The Raging River, less than a year after releasing their eighth full-length album A Dawn to Fear. Much to the delight of fans, the band will be releasing their ninth full-length studio album The Long Road North in just under a month’s time, on February the 11th. The album will be released on Metal Blade Records, which the group signed with back in 2019. The band has released two singles from the record so far, “Cold Burn” and “Into The Night”. You can view the band’s visualiser for “Into The Night” down below. More information on the upcoming album, as well as pre-orders, can be found here.
Forming in 1998 in Umeå, Sweden from the ashes of a hardcore punk group called Eclipse, Cult of Luna released their self-titled debut album three years later, in 2001. Stylistically, the band blended the fury of hardcore punk with the melodic sensibilities and lengthy song structures of post-metal, culminating in a sound that was not too dissimilar to genre titans Isis (the band, not the other thing) and Neurosis. The band’s 2004 record Salvation is widely considered to be their “breakout” album, which received overwhelming acclaim, with Metal Hammer awarding it an extremely rare 10/10 rating. Cult of Luna’s entire musical catalogue can be found on all streaming services.
