Moloch - Nur die Berge erinnern sich der Winde die hier ihr [Nihil Art Records - 2010]The lengthily entitled “Nur die Berge erinnern sich der Winde die hier ihren Anfang fanden vor so langer Zeit” is a compilation of synth only tracks by this distinctive and often darkly quirky one man ambient black metal/ dark synth project from Rivne Ukraine. The release offers up just four tracks, but two of them hit around twenty minute mark & the others fall between just over & just under the ten minute mark- so you have over an hours worth of grim yet hypnotic dark synth scaping here. Each of the four tracks originally appeared on one of the many releases Moloch put out in 2010(the project put out or was part of nearing twenty release in 2010!). Starting the album off the album we have “Isolation der Essenz” which comes from the album of the same name-this album was released in late 2010 on Sabbathid Records. The track comes in at the twenty five minute mark, and it can best be described as darkly drifting & morbidly beatless take on a space bound John Carpenter movie soundtracking. The tracks made up of slowly throbbing and ebbing synth bass textures that darkly simmer out this great and lonesome sci-fi bound epic track. the tracks a great start to the comp, and its one of the highlights here. Track number two is entitled “Abgrund meines Wesens” and it orignally appeared on a ltd 4cdr boxset entitled “Ein Land, Wo Der Winter Immer Bleibt”. This track is once again quite lengthy at just over the twenty one minute mark, and it mixtures together slowly swirling and simmering mid-tone synth textures that dip in & out of revolving yet bleak harmonic patterns. This track brings to mind a solitaire figure moving over a people-less & building-less snow-covered mountain scape. I guess this track is slightly more shifting and altering than the first track with Moloch unfolding quite a few different synth melodies & shifting the atmospheric layers of snthy throb in & out of sight. The tracks best described as a slower & darker take on late 70’s Tangerine dream meets Popol Vuh via grim ambient harmonics. Track three is entitled “Das Land ewiger Kälte und Sorge” and also originally appeared on 4cdr boxset “Ein Land, Wo Der Winter Immer Bleibt”. This track comes in at just over the eleven minute mark, and the track finds Moloch mixing together brooding synth bass shimmers with slightly reverberating synthic mettlic textures- the tracks ok, but it somehow lacks the epic & lonely harmonic grandeur of the first two tracks. So last of all we have “Gebrechlichkeit I” which once again originally appeared on the 4cdr boxset “Ein Land, Wo Der Winter Immer Bleibt”. The tracks a just over five minute cover version of a Burzum track that originally appeared on 1996’s Filosofem. Moloch strips out the originals black metal guitar & vocal elements to just leave the tracks grim harmonic synth throbbing heart. Again this tracks ok, but it lacks the bleak and vast harmonic dwell & ebb of the first two tracks. So all in all this comp is an rewarding enough collection of synth bound slices of bleack yet epic & often enchanting sonics by this hugely prolific project. This is Worth picking up if your either into synth based ambient black metal drifts, or dark & grim late 80’s or early 70’s synth based soundtracks. Roger Batty
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