Moloch — Blacker Than Darkness
This Ukranian duo starts the tape with the usual, thrown away and totally useless dark ambient intro. Fortunately it lasts only about one minute and then it's time for the real deal.
The first proper black metal track of the demo "Halo Of Fire Brands" is a blast from the past. It's extremely minimal black metal, with stripped down, simple and obsessive riffing reminiscent of early Darktrhone. The fuzzy guitar and the insistent blastbeat create the typical cacophonous mix of early black metal I love so much, and that reminds me of a cursed crossbreed between Johnny Ramone, Glenn Branca and a panzerfaust.
The trademark painful screaming is very effective and well done, while production is raw and filthy (despite the use of what it sounds like digital drums) just as it should be.
"Halo Of Fire Brands" comes back a second time with an instrumental version. It stinks like a filler but since it's a demo tape I guess it's ok.
"Cold Shadows Of Lost Woods" shows a softer, yet eerie side of Moloch. It's a two minutes long delicate and echoed guitar arpeggio that reminds me of similar tracks from Black Sabbath.
"Birth In The Depths Of Blackness" starts with yet another Sabbath clichè: church bells. It's a piece of classic 90s black metal worshipping with all the elements in the right place. It's not different in spirit and structure from "Halo Of Fire Brands", so there's nothing much to say except that it feels right and I like it. Another echoed guitar track ends the tape, actually leaving me crave for more music from Moloch.
The two black metal tracks on this tape are right up my alley, and the broken english of the titles just adds to the exotic charm of "Blacker Than Darkness".Suggested to lovers of underground, traditional black metal.