Moloch — Abstrakter Wald

“Abstrakter Wald” offers up just under an hours worth of sweeping morose & bleak dark ambience/ wintery synth drift. Moloch is a highly prolific Ukraine based depressive black metal/ dark ambient project that has amassed a staggering 70 plus releases since it started in 2002.

This release has seen both a tape release(which I’m reviewing), and a digital download version that featured an extra track. On offer here are seven tracks, “Abstrakter Wald I to IV”, “Wo die Winde für immer weinen” & “Wo die Winde für immer weinen”, and these last between just over the 6 mintue mark to the 11 mintue mark.

Each of the seven tracks bleakly drifts 'n' ebbs along in a fairly similar fashion, and each is built around slow drifting marchers & broods of beat-less synth playing. They mix together mournful bass synth sustains that are weaved with black & cold melodies- these are often fairly simplistic, yet very effective at pulling you deep into a grim & bleak winter time forest world.  From time to time wintery field recordings are added here & there to deepen this vibe

In the past Moloch dark ambient work has touched on bleak filmatic  drifts, early 70’s synth texturing, dissonant piano passages, and wonky  synthetic orchestrated moments. But this release is all about slow plodding synth scapes that simmer in deep despair and winter bleakness. I guess you’d say the nearest comparison would be some of Burzum dark instrumental synth work, but Moloch puts his own bleak edge to proceedings.

So if you dig drifting, glooming & bleak synth scapeing  that often has majestic melancholic air about it  then “Abstrakter Wald” will be right up your street.