Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas is a collaboration between the Swedish band Cult of Luna and vocalist Julie Christmas. Cult of Luna forms in 1998 in Umeå, Sweden, and works in atmospheric sludge, progressive metal and post-hardcore. Julie Christmas is a Brooklyn-born vocalist associated with alternative metal, experimental music, metal, noise rock, post-hardcore and post-metal.

Cult of Luna

Cult of Luna begins with guitarist and vocalist Johannes Persson and vocalist Klas Rydberg. The first line-up also includes Magnus Lindberg, Erik Olofsson and Fredrik Renstrom. Renstrom leaves after a short period, and the band records a two-track demo in January 1999 after further rehearsals. When the group decides it needs someone to handle electronics, Lindberg takes that role, and Marco Hilden joins on drums while Axel Stattin joins on bass.

The band’s first release is a 7-inch split vinyl put out through Trust No One Recordings, with help from Tim Bertilsson and his band Switchblade. After a performance at the Trastock Festival in 2000, UK label Rage of Achilles makes contact and later releases the debut album. Hydra Head Records also shows interest and releases a two-track 7-inch coloured vinyl that is recorded during the same period as the self-titled album.

After the debut, Cult of Luna signs to Earache Records and records The Beyond at Tonteknik Recording in July 2002. Axel Stattin departs after the session and Andreas Johansson joins on bass. The Beyond appears in 2003 and is followed by touring in Sweden with The Haunted and in the UK with Isis. The line-up later changes again, with Thomas Hedlund replacing Marco Hilden on drums and Anders Teglund becoming a permanent keyboard player, while Lindberg handles percussion and additional guitar parts.

In late 2003 the band tours Europe with Poison the Well and later returns to the UK with The Dillinger Escape Plan. Writing for the next album begins in early 2004, and the group records Salvation in three sessions at Tonteknik Recording, completing it in July 2004. The album is issued in Europe and the US later that year, and the band tours Europe, the UK and Scandinavia in support. Fredrik Kihlberg joins this tour on percussion and clean vocals.

In 2005 the band tours Europe, partly with Bleeding Through and partly alone, with Magnus stepping in on live drums while Hedlund is unavailable. The group then tours the US for the first time, supporting Mastodon on one leg and headlining eight shows with Breather Resist. After further Scandinavian and European festival appearances, Cult of Luna begins work on Somewhere Along The Highway. Recording starts in November 2005 in an old octagon barn west of Umeå, with later studio sessions completed and the final song mixed in January 2006. The album is released on Earache Records in 2006.

Julie Christmas

Julie Christmas is a vocalist from Brooklyn, United States, born in 1975. She is known for an emphatic, distinctive vocal style and appears in the underground metal, hardcore and post-metal scene.

Her work includes lead vocals in Made Out of Babies, Battle of Mice and Spylacopa. She also releases a solo project titled The Bad Wife, produced by Andrew Schneider and featuring writing contributions from John LaMacchia, Mel Lederman and others including Joe Tomino, Oddity and Tony Maimone.