Red Creek Metal 13 Items

10 year anniversary boxset edition of Cult of Luna's take on Fritz Lang's Metropolis film, the 2-parts concept album Vertikal, I and II.

"Somewhere Along The Highway" and "Eternal Kingdom" were inspired by the landscape of Västerbotten, the county we are from. We realised that there was only one way to go for us: to the city, into the future. Making a droney John Carpenter-esque album would be too easy and we’ve never been about taking the simple route. I was studying film at the time and had been floored by the aesthetic of German expressionism. This resonated perfectly with Erik Olofsson, who had just got into Italian futurism. This was a real challenge.

We put in a lot of effort to realize our vision of the stale, artificial city in all aspects of what an album is. The way we played guitar (only down strokes), the production, artwork and band photos, everything was done with the vision as a guide. "Vertikal" is the album where we had the most precise vision of what we wanted to do and worked hardest to transform it from an idea into reality.

A lot of things happened during the years between "Eternal Kingdom" and "Vertikal" and I could continue writing for ages but this will do for now. Ten years have passed since its release and what felt like a rebirth of the band, the band that is still ongoing with new goals and missions. This box that we are very proud of consists of everything we recorded during the "Vertikal" session including the two demo tracks.

It’s a full circle kind of thing. At the time we had no label and now we are releasing it on our very own. Life is strange.

Johannes Persson - Umeå December 2022

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years.

“The Raging River” feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with “A Dawn To Fear”. It’s a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided us for the last couple of years.

It’s been an interesting as well as an introspective way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey, some aspects of it is clearly circular. We have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005 when we wrote the song “And With Her Came The Birds” we had his voice in mind and the working title was “The Lanegan Song”. But we were not many years over 20 and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on “Inside Of A Dream” is nothing more than feeling that we’re inside of a dream.

Johannes Persson

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years.

“The Raging River” feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with “A Dawn To Fear”. It’s a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided us for the last couple of years.

It’s been an interesting as well as an introspective way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey, some aspects of it is clearly circular. We have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005 when we wrote the song “And With Her Came The Birds” we had his voice in mind and the working title was “The Lanegan Song”. But we were not many years over 20 and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on “Inside Of A Dream” is nothing more than feeling that we’re inside of a dream.

Johannes Persson

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years.

“The Raging River” feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with “A Dawn To Fear”. It’s a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided us for the last couple of years.

It’s been an interesting as well as an introspective way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey, some aspects of it is clearly circular. We have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005 when we wrote the song “And With Her Came The Birds” we had his voice in mind and the working title was “The Lanegan Song”. But we were not many years over 20 and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on “Inside Of A Dream” is nothing more than feeling that we’re inside of a dream.

Johannes Persson

10 year anniversary gatefold 2LP edition of Cult of Luna's take on Fritz Lang's Metropolis film, Vertikal.

"Somewhere Along The Highway" and "Eternal Kingdom" were inspired by the landscape of Västerbotten, the county we are from. We realised that there was only one way to go for us: to the city, into the future. Making a droney John Carpenter-esque album would be too easy and we’ve never been about taking the simple route. I was studying film at the time and had been floored by the aesthetic of German expressionism. This resonated perfectly with Erik Olofsson, who had just got into Italian futurism. This was a real challenge.

We put in a lot of effort to realize our vision of the stale, artificial city in all aspects of what an album is. The way we played guitar (only down strokes), the production, artwork and band photos, everything was done with the vision as a guide.

"Vertikal" is the album where we had the most precise vision of what we wanted to do and worked hardest to transform it from an idea into reality.

A lot of things happened during the years between "Eternal Kingdom" and "Vertikal" and I could continue writing for ages but this will do for now. Ten years have passed since its release and what felt like a rebirth of the band, the band that is still ongoing with new goals and missions.

It’s a full circle kind of thing. At the time we had no label and now we are releasing it on our very own. Life is strange.

Johannes Persson - Umeå December 2022

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years.

“The Raging River” feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with “A Dawn To Fear”. It’s a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided us for the last couple of years.

It’s been an interesting as well as an introspective way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey, some aspects of it is clearly circular. We have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005 when we wrote the song “And With Her Came The Birds” we had his voice in mind and the working title was “The Lanegan Song”. But we were not many years over 20 and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on “Inside Of A Dream” is nothing more than feeling that we’re inside of a dream.

Johannes Persson

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years.

“The Raging River” feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with “A Dawn To Fear”. It’s a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided us for the last couple of years.

It’s been an interesting as well as an introspective way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey, some aspects of it is clearly circular. We have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005 when we wrote the song “And With Her Came The Birds” we had his voice in mind and the working title was “The Lanegan Song”. But we were not many years over 20 and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on “Inside Of A Dream” is nothing more than feeling that we’re inside of a dream.

Johannes Persson

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years.

“The Raging River” feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with “A Dawn To Fear”. It’s a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided us for the last couple of years.

It’s been an interesting as well as an introspective way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey, some aspects of it is clearly circular. We have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005 when we wrote the song “And With Her Came The Birds” we had his voice in mind and the working title was “The Lanegan Song”. But we were not many years over 20 and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on “Inside Of A Dream” is nothing more than feeling that we’re inside of a dream.

Johannes Persson

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years.

“The Raging River” feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with “A Dawn To Fear”. It’s a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided us for the last couple of years.

It’s been an interesting as well as an introspective way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey, some aspects of it is clearly circular. We have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005 when we wrote the song “And With Her Came The Birds” we had his voice in mind and the working title was “The Lanegan Song”. But we were not many years over 20 and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on “Inside Of A Dream” is nothing more than feeling that we’re inside of a dream.

Johannes Persson

If you’re looking for a band that embody everything hardcore punk should be, then you’re looking for Birds in Row. Sonically, they’re fearless. Lyrically, they’re as poetic as they are recusant. And live, they’re a ruthless force, matching the power of their music with boundless, must-see energy. After debut album You, Me & the Violence sparked listeners’ imaginations, 2018 follow-up We Already Lost the World was an unyielding inferno of brazen ideas. Metal Hammer UK called it “intelligent, poignant art,” writing that “this downward spiral changes pace and weight at every turn.” It screamed for mutual respect in a world of increasingly extreme political divides, and used the vehicles of punk, post-hardcore and post-metal to carry its cries. Now comes Gris Klein. Birds in Row’s third full-length album is their most genre-bending and timely declaration yet. “Water Wings” opens, its scraping guitar strums a ticking clock, counting down to the inevitable barrage of hardcore to follow. “Noah” revs up over its six gargantuan minutes. Its singing slowly spirals into apoplectic screeches. “Trompe l’oeil” is half folk, half punk, and “Winter Yet” has no qualms about busting out seismic metal guitars at its climax. It’s an amorphous beast of an album: always unpredictable, but never out of character for this creative collective. Gris Klein’s lyrics were sculpted by the Covid-19 pandemic, eloquently summarizing the cruel and sometimes nonsensical nature of mental illness. “Trompe l’oeil”, for example, sings, “Most of the times I feel lonely are when my friends are around.” “This is the exact moment where you should feel like you’re surrounded by people you love and you’re not alone,” the band add. “It asks, ‘If I can’t feel loved in this specific moment, then when can I feel that?’” Gris Klein is a portrait of a world enduring its most chaotic era in a generation. Yet throughout, the Birds in Row manifesto is the same as it’s always been: love each other. “We really want people to know that they’re not alone, and that they can count on each other,” they say. “The way we treat each other is political. It’s OK to trust each other. All the movies about catastrophes show people turning against each other, but that’s not what would happen. When people are in the shit, they help each other. That’s what we’re trying to transmit with this record: hold each other’s hands.” Not even a world-shaking pandemic could damage Birds in Row’s invention, compassion and brutality. Now three albums in, they remain the model portrait of punk. – Matt Mills, May 2022

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years. "'The Raging River' feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with 2019's 'A Dawn to Fear,'" the band adds. "It's been an interesting, as well as an introspective, way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey; some aspects of it are also clearly circular. For example, we have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005, when we wrote the song 'And With Her Came the Birds', we had his voice in mind, and the working title was 'The Lanegan Song'. But we were not many years over 20, and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on 'Inside Of A Dream' is nothing more than feeling that we're inside of a dream."

Red Creek's debut release, The Raging River, is a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided Cult of Luna for the last couple of years.

“The Raging River” feels more like a bridge. A midpoint that needs to be crossed so we can finish what we started with “A Dawn To Fear”. It’s a seamless continuation of the writing process and the creative mindset that has guided us for the last couple of years.

It’s been an interesting as well as an introspective way of working, having our instinct leading the way and then having to figure out where it takes us. But not only has it been a linear journey, some aspects of it is clearly circular. We have been a fan of Mark Lanegan for many years. So in 2005 when we wrote the song “And With Her Came The Birds” we had his voice in mind and the working title was “The Lanegan Song”. But we were not many years over 20 and our lack of self-confidence prevented us from even daring to ask. It took fifteen years for us to get the guts to ask him. Hearing his voice on “Inside Of A Dream” is nothing more than feeling that we’re inside of a dream.

Johannes Persson