Moloch - Isolation der Essenz [Sabbathid Records - 2010]“Isolation der Essenz” is the newest release from this slightly off kilter yet grimy atmospheric ambient black metal meets dark synth scaping project from Rivne Ukraine. The project is a one man band, and it has been active since 2004 so far amassed just over 60 releases. Though-out the albums six tracks and just over fifty minutes runtime we move from shambling and off-kilter grimness, through to felt and poignant piano lined synth atmospherics, onto blacked and moody synth scaping. The album is really split into two parts with the first half been a mixture of blacked metal tracks that mix darting, stumbling and throbbing bass lines, with lurching drums, walls of grim blacked guitar tone, and shrieked vocal bays and screams. And gothic piano work-outs that are under fed by atmospheric yet slightly wavering synth textures. Then the second half of the album is taken up by the twenty five minute title track which is purely a grim and blacked synth based track. The track rather brings to mind the more brooding and beat-less moments John Carpenter soundtracks for likes of the Thing, The Fog or Halloween 3- it’s all throbbing, sinister and bassy synth lines and dwells, yet there’s also a real grim sci-fi feel to the track too. It painted very vivid pictures in my mind of huge greyed spaceships endless driffting in starless space, or barren and greyed planet scapes were the light barely gets to. Sure twenty five minute is a lengthy synth track in any ones books, but Moloch really makes it so captivating and grimly rolling that those twenty five minutes seem to fly by. “Isolation der Essenz” is my first taster of Moloch work, and I must say I’m very much taken by it. As he mangers to move from being ugly and off-kilter, to blackly graceful and sinsterly drifting- and makes it all work. So if you enjoy original sounding yet slightly wonky blacked metal and atmopshric synth scaping this is a must buy!. Roger Batty
|