With Cult of Luna, a true eclipse awaits Hellfest. The Swedish band takes the festival into dark territories, as abyssal as they are celestial. A mind-blowing performance, full of contrasts.

Cult of Luna was formed (or rather, born?) in 1998, in northern Sweden. In this part of the world, where the sun and moon don’t follow the same cycles as elsewhere, these Scandinavians produce music that, too, breaks free from all constraints. Sludge metal, post-metal, post-hardcore, progressive metal… it’s indeed difficult to pin a label on Cult of Luna’s music.

What is certain, however, is the myriad of emotions the band’s compositions evoke—from suffocating anguish to cathartic joy. This almost transcendental experience is embodied in albums that have become true benchmarks of the genre: *Salvation* (2004), *Somewhere Along the Highway* (2006), *A Dawn to Fear* (2019), and *The Long Road North* (2022).

But as is often the case with intense music, Cult of Luna’s work is best appreciated live.