Somewhere Along the Highway
Somewhere Along the Highway | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 24, 2006 | |||
Recorded | Late 2005 | |||
Genre | Post-metal, sludge metal | |||
Length | 64:41 | |||
Label | Earache Records (MOSH 344CD) | |||
Producer | Cult of Luna | |||
Cult of Luna chronology | ||||
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Digipack cover | ||||
![]() The cover to the limited edition digipack edition of the album, of which 8000 were printed. |
Somewhere Along the Highway is the fourth studio album by Swedish post-metal band Cult of Luna, released in 2006 by Earache Records. A concept album, it revolves around the motif of male loneliness. It was warmly received by critics and accordingly claimed several awards.
The album followed Salvation in the band's chronology, and differed from it in terms of sound and feel. While Salvation was deemed "celestial",[1] Somewhere Along the Highway was characterized as "unpolished" by the band.[2]
Recording and release
To achieve the sound, the album's initial tracking took place over seven days in an octagonal wooden barn surrounded by what the band described as "Blair Witch" scenery close to the band's hometown of Umeå in northern Sweden.[3] According to drummer Magnus Lindberg, the remote location, coupled with the sighting of "Wicca witch women dancing in the woods" and the actual acoustics of the barn itself all contributed towards creating the perfect ambience to lay down the basic tracks which were done primarily live, as a unit.[3][4] Accordingly, the album has "a less polished sound – not as produced as Salvation – definitively a more rough sound."[5] The band had a relatively low budget and little time to record the album in comparison with the painstakingly produced Salvation;[5] a press release advised listeners to "expect a raw and unpolished album".[2]
The album was released on April 24, 2006,
In August 2006, the band released a remix of "Marching to the Heartbeats", entitled "Heartbeats", solely on the Internet community
A video was shot for "Back to Chapel Town", directed by band member Johannes Persson. Shooting lasted five days, and the concept, according to Persson, is that of "a man waking up in a world he doesn't know, he knows nothing of his past or where he is, people treat him like air or are very suspicious of him".[9]
Theme
Cult of Luna albums tend to focus on a theme; guitarist Erik Olofsson states in an interview that this release focuses on "Male loneliness – I was very inspired by a book by
Reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
About.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 9/10[11] |
Decibel | (positive)[12] |
Exclaim! | (favourable)[13] |
Metal Storm | 8.4/10[14] |
Rock Hard | 8/10[15] |
Terrorizer | 6/10[16] |
Writing for
It placed fifth in
Track listing
All tracks are written by Cult of Luna with lyrics by Johannes Persson
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Marching to the Heartbeats" | 3:13 |
2. | "Finland" | 10:46 |
3. | "Back to Chapel Town" | 7:09 |
4. | "And with Her Came the Birds" | 5:58 |
5. | "Thirtyfour" | 10:00 |
6. | "Dim" | 11:46 |
7. | "Dark City, Dead Man" | 15:49 |
Personnel
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References
- ^ Hocking, Mat (2004-11-11). "Review of Salvation". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ a b "Cult of Luna recording new album". Lambgoat. 9 December 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
- ^ About.com. Archived from the originalon 23 November 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2006.
- ^ Harris, Chris; Wiederhorn, John (10 February 2006). "Metal File: Behemoth, Black Sabbath, Sodom, Zao & More In This Week's Hard News". MTV. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
- ^ a b c Lozano, Francisco (6 June 2006). "Cult of Luna interview". Metal Storm. Retrieved 25 August 2006.
- ^ "Cult of Luna » history". cultofluna.com. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ^ a b "Cult of Luna: Somewhere Along the Highway - MOSH344". Earache Records. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
- ^ Baudin, Olov (30 August 2006). "Cult of Luna testar gränser" (in Swedish). Västerbottens Folkblad. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
- ^ "CULT OF LUNA: 'Back To Chapel Town' Video Available". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner Records. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ^ allmusic. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
- ISBN 9781-926592-20-6.
- ^ Decibel (20). Archived from the originalon 8 August 2007. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
- Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway". 12 July 2006.
- ^ "Rock Hard Review". issue 229.
- ^ Martin, Jim (May 2006). "Selected & Dissected". Terrorizer. No. 144. UK: Dark Arts Ltd. p. 71.
- Decibel (27). Archived from the originalon 5 December 2007.
- Decibel (27). Archived from the originalon 14 October 2007.
- ^ "Earache Extreme News". Earache Records. 1 February 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31.
- ^ "Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway" (in Swedish). hitparad.se. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
- ^ a b Somewhere Along the Highway (Media notes). Cult of Luna. Earache Records. 2006. MOSH 344CD.
{{cite AV media notes}}
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