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Moloken - Rural

Published December 21 2011


*
=Staff's pick

The Tital Above Us*
Waltz Of Despair*
Casus
Blank Point
Ulv*
Thin Line
Åland*


Genre Sludge
N. Bäckström/K. Bäckström
Vocals
Tracks 7
Kristoffer Bäckström
Guitar
Running time 52 Min.
Patrick Ylmefors
Guitar
Label Discouraged Records
Nicklas Bäckström
Bass
Release 25 November 2011
Jakob Burstedt
Drums
Country Sweden
-
Keyboard
Producer -
Similar artists ---

It really isn't my modus operandi to listen to, let alone dig sludge. But Moloken (Swedish for morose) gets me convinced that this subgenre really isn't bad to the core.

To listen to Rural is like stepping out into a distorted wilderness, or to gaze upon a monolithic mountain wreathed in anxiety in the twilight as the fimbulwinter is about to descend on the world of humans. Opener The Titan Above Us has a intro as long as suggestive - a fact I don't mind one bit. The music lags onward with a momentum that contradicts everything I thought I knew about the subgenre - just brilliant.

I very much enjoyed Moloken's first record, Our Astral Circle, but Rural is quite possibly a better record. What I appreciate is that the band dares to let the music take its time - and they are doing so without being boring for one second. This quite naturally is because the songwriting is at such a high level - not one song feels stale or is void of great playing.

Guitarists Patrick Ylmefors and Kristoffer Bäckström play beautifully throughout the record - at times subtly at times like bulldozers as in Walz Of Despair that drones on like a depressed and wounded giant armadillo.

The desolate feel of Moloken's music both attracts me as well as pushes me away - Rural isn't a partyrecord in any sense of the word - but it's very liberating to listen to a record that affirms the inner darkness and has the guts to be as anxiety-provoking to the max. This, ladies and gents, truly is the greatest strength with Rural.


Performance
Originality
Production
Vocals
Songwriting

8

7

9

7

8

 
Summary



8 chalices of 10 - Martin


Related links:

www.myspace.com/moloken