Moloken - Our Astral Circle
Moloken's "Our Astral Circle" has been one of the hardest albums for me to review in the last year. Trying to sum their sound in a few words is difficult because they don't seem to fit into any particular genre of metal. Some people may see this as a bonus but for me it left me somewhat confused. They are described as a mixture of doom and death metal in the early 90s style, British epic progressive rock, and ambient hardcore but i don't hear much hardcore at all in this. They have many doom elements in their sound but its not like traditional doom metal like Candlemass or the more stoner doom sound of Electric Wizard. Moloken's sound is more sludge driven but with a progressive rock edge. Opening track "Molten Pantheon" has a thick sounding riff and the vocal roar of Nicklas Bäckström knocks you back in your chair at first, he has a tortured vocal sound. The music is very bass heavy but with some strong melodic lead breaks inserted to add some real contrasting sounds. At first i was thinking Cult of Luna meets Swallow the Sun but after repeated spins i keep hearing something different again. There is also some hypnotic rhythms with melodic drumming that you don't hear too often within a metal band. By the time you get to the third track called "Die Fear Will" you get a almost "Mastodon" type feeling about the band. The mixture of pure power chords and sonic ambiance is well done but just to confuse you even more, there is a almost "Neurosis" influence that shines through in songs like "Followers". The main feature of the band's songwriting is the use of dynamics, loud and quiet sections mingle together and melancholic leads blend with thundering sludge sections. The quieter sections seem to work best as in the moody intro to "Untitled I", another highlight is "My Enemy" which is a savage slab of metal but for doom fans "11"12" stands out as being the closet thing to pure doom.
Just to confuse you even more about this band, i must say there is a kind of looseness to the recordings on here even though the band is incredibly tight. This is a achivement on their part, to be able to record some real tight musical interplay but to also keep a live in the studio vibe. Elsewhere on the album you will more good tracks, there is no real filler material but the tracks i already mentioned do stand out as being the high points on the album. Musically Moloken wont re-define the doom/sludge genre but the crossover sound they have may point to a emerging trend with the doom metal style. Its not doom enough to be a pure doom album and not deathly enough to be death metal but this is still one hell of a heavy release. The production is excellent and the packaging is equally as impressive but the music contained within may take a few spins to get used to. As good as this album is, i personally think their best work is still to come. To me this is the sound of a band trying to figure out which road to take musically speaking and i mean no offense to anyone with that statement. This is a big step up from their debut "We all face the dark alone" and the band has the musical chops to create something really special next time around. Till then, my friend!
Just to confuse you even more about this band, i must say there is a kind of looseness to the recordings on here even though the band is incredibly tight. This is a achivement on their part, to be able to record some real tight musical interplay but to also keep a live in the studio vibe. Elsewhere on the album you will more good tracks, there is no real filler material but the tracks i already mentioned do stand out as being the high points on the album. Musically Moloken wont re-define the doom/sludge genre but the crossover sound they have may point to a emerging trend with the doom metal style. Its not doom enough to be a pure doom album and not deathly enough to be death metal but this is still one hell of a heavy release. The production is excellent and the packaging is equally as impressive but the music contained within may take a few spins to get used to. As good as this album is, i personally think their best work is still to come. To me this is the sound of a band trying to figure out which road to take musically speaking and i mean no offense to anyone with that statement. This is a big step up from their debut "We all face the dark alone" and the band has the musical chops to create something really special next time around. Till then, my friend!
1. Molten Pantheon
2. Untitled I
3. Die Fear Will
4. Followers
5. Ebeorietemet
6. Untitled II
7. My Enemy
8. Untitled III
9. 11″12
