(Judging by the fustian and stiff English description on their bandcamp page, Moloken's third album is meant to be titled something closer to All That's Left Is To See. Don't name your album in a foreign language without consulting a native speaker, kids.)
Sweden's Moloken have grand ambitions. You can tell by the fact that they use the phrase "genre-fascism" unironically in the bandcamp blurb for their latest effort.
The post-metal/sludge foursome's third album, All Is Left To See, is a concept album (the first in a planned trilogy on human darkness ) packed with nontraditional song structures, ambient interludes, and crunchy prog riffs. It's often a little overambitious; a curious characteristic for a half-hour-long release that feels even shorter. Moloken eagerly experiment with wildly varied song lengths ("Burst" lasts barely over a minute. while "Seventh Circle" last seven) and unusual instruments (mallets on "Wreckage"), but never inspire the pleased incredulity that good experimental metal should.
Moloken hit their stride on the heavier songs. The soaring middle of "Seventh Circle" captures the despairing, visceral earnestness the band seems to be chasing, as does the first half of "I Dig Deeper." When All Is Left To See works, the jagged, hardcore-inspired vocals combine with sludgy riffs to deliver an emotional and punchy listening experience. When it doesn't—mostly during the album's numerous experimentalish instrumental passages—the band feels like they're stalling for time, building to a crescendo that never comes, or perhaps trying to obfuscate the fact that All Is Left To See is essentially a glorified extended play rather than a full-length release.
While All Is Left To See works better as a cry of hopelessness than brooding introspection—and Moloken seem to want it to be both—the success of the former on tracks like "Subliminal Hymns" and "All Is Left To See" makes up for the questionable merit of the latter. It's certainly not a career-making release, but a good release. Moloken can do progressive atmospheric sludge well when they're not preoccupied with being existential and experimental.
Recommended.
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