| Lightless Walk | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 16, 2015 | |||
| Studio | God City [1] | |||
| Genre | Metalcore, crust punk, grindcore, sludge metal | |||
| Length | 36:42 | |||
| Label | Deathwish (DW183) | |||
| Producer | Kurt Ballou | |||
| Cult Leader chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim | 10/10 [2] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10.0 [3] |
| Revolver | 4/5 [4] |
Lightless Walk is the debut studio album by American metalcore band Cult Leader. The album was released on October 16, 2015 through Deathwish Inc. and produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge. [5] The track "Gutter Gods" previously appeared on Cult Leader's 2015 EP Useless Animal .
Metalcore is a fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. The word is a portmanteau of the two genres. Among other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing. Pioneering metalcore bands—such as Integrity, Earth Crisis, Converge and All Out War —are described as leaning more toward hardcore, with their style sometimes being called metallic hardcore, whereas later bands—such as Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, Trivium, As I Lay Dying, Bullet for My Valentine, and Parkway Drive—are described as leaning more towards metal. Pantera and Sepultura have been particularly influential to the development of metalcore in the 2000s, which saw many bands in the genre achieve commercial success.
Cult Leader is an American hardcore punk band that formed in 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded by three members of Gaza following the band's break-up. Cult Leader signed to Jacob Bannon's record label Deathwish Inc. and have released two studio albums, Lightless Walk (2015) and A Patient Man (2018), as well two EPs through the label, showcasing a brutal sound with prominent elements of extreme metal.
Deathwish, Inc. is an independent record label founded by Jacob Bannon of Converge and Tre McCarthy. The idea of the label was conceived by Bannon and McCarthy in 2000. Their first release was Deeper the Wound, a split album between Converge and Japanese band Hellchild on April 23, 2001. Deathwish established itself quickly, working with a diverse group of bands and eventually becoming one of the most respected and innovative labels in contemporary hardcore punk and aggressive music in general.
Contents
The album's sound was heavily inspired by Cult Leader's cover of "You Are Not My Blood" found on Useless Animal, [6] originally by the indie/folk collaboration between Mark Kozelek and Desertshore from their eponymous 2013 album, Mark Kozelek & Desertshore . Vocalist Anthony Lucero sees himself as being "in the same vocal range" as musicians such as Tom Waits, Nick Cave and Michael Gira, and the fruitful sessions that resulted in "You Are Not My Blood" encouraged Cult Leader to incorporate more of these styling into their metallic punk sound. [6] Lucero said Lightless Walk saw Cult Leader exploring how to write songs that incorporated these two textural elements to balance each other out. He elaborated: "There has to be some sort of silver lining existing somewhere in the world to counterbalance depression. And I tend to write about that a lot." [6] Lyrically, Lightless Walk explores ideas of depression, isolation, sadness and hope. [7]
Mark Edward Kozelek is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer and occasional actor. He is best known as the vocalist and primary recording artist of the indie folk act Sun Kil Moon, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums, and as the vocalist, guitarist and founding member of the indie rock band Red House Painters, with whom he recorded six studio albums from 1989 until 2001.
Mark Kozelek & Desertshore is a collaborative studio album by American singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek and indie rock band Desertshore, released on August 20, 2013 on Caldo Verde Records. The album was Kozelek's third studio album of 2013.
Thomas Alan Waits is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Waits' music is characterized by his distinctive deep, gravelly singing voice and lyrics focusing on the underside of U.S. society. During the 1970s, he worked primarily in jazz, but since the 1980s his music has reflected greater influence from blues, vaudeville, and experimental genres.
