Moloch — Die Isolation
The album consists of nine tracks in all, and these take in two bleak ambient works( one a short intro track, and the other a twenty two minute affair). With the remaining seven tracks been stark ‘n shrill to pained ‘n’ bleak slices of ambient black metal- which go from lumbering & wonky onto more mid-paced affairs. The black metal tracks all have that fairly recognisable Moloch sound pallet, which brings together mournful & churning guitar work, wondering & often high in the mix bass work, stark & simple drum work, and vocals that move from pained shrill through to bleak mumbles. All of these tracks are rewarding enough in creating a suitable stark & grim vibe, though they are a little interchangeable at times.
For me the highlight here is the last & longest track “Abgrund Meines Wesens”- which is a great example of this projects forays into long form, bleak, and dreamily melancholic synth ambience. The just under twenty two minute track is built around slow 'n' mournful sweeps & swirls of bleakly haunting yet starkly harmonic synth melody. The tracks synthesizer’s sort of create these slowly moving & bone chilling banks of simmering & swirling melody. It summons up imagery of vast expanse of snow covered land-scapes, brooding life-less forest at dusk, and lonesome figures disappearing off into barren landscapes. Fittingly to intensify some of the above imagery we get the odd subtle billowing of wind field recording, which pulls you deeper into the atmosphere.
All in all Die Isolation is consistent enough release from Moloch- and is worthy if you are already a fan, or new to the project. I guess it would have been nice to see the project maybe experiment a bit more, in particular with the black metal tracks, but as it stands this album is a satisfy enough blend of grim & pained blacked metal, and sweeping melancholic ambience.