Moloch
Illusionen Eines Verlorenen Lebens
2011
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Amidst the numerous one-man black metal projects, there are a few that stand out as talented and enjoyable, able to create records that hold attention and take the listener on a journey. Pr. Sergiy, alias Moloch, attempts this in his latest of many releases, Illusionen Eines Verlorenen Lebens. Relatively new given he only started 9 years ago, he unites dark ambient with depressive black metal in the vein of Xasthur, I Shalt Become and Burzum, but never truly reaches the heights of any of those bands.
This is questionably a “black metal” album, as three fifths of it is dark ambient, including the 22-minute closer “Abgrund Meines Wesens”. The synth in itself is pleasant, and a relief from the harsh black metal of the four middle tracks, but ultimately works better as an atmospheric film score than something more substantial and captivating. As for the black metal, the slow buzzing guitars and repetitive drums in both halves of “Ein Düsterer Winter Kommt” and “Dissonanz Tropfen Eines Glühenden Schmerzes” create a wall of quite monotonous dissonant sound, while Sergiy tries a change in style on “Weg Von Dieser Welt Voller Traurigkeit”, but the garage-quality Scandinavian style is worse than the previous tracks. By the time the two brief synth tracks hit, they are warmly welcomed, although the final track more than outstays its welcome.
Sergiy's Ukrainian roots show through in the lyrics, although comparisons to countrymen Drudkh need not apply. For the sake of a non-Ukrainian audience, I'll use the translations he provides, which show a varying lyrical quality, one of the better lines being “The trees blindly watch upwards as if they have to see the dance of stars”. The vocals, typical of depressive black metal, shift between spoken word, howling and whimpering, which grow unbearable in “Ein Düsterer...II” and “Weg Von...”, and are only vaguely tolerable on “Ein Düsterer..I”.
Sergiy's Ukrainian roots show through in the lyrics, although comparisons to countrymen Drudkh need not apply. For the sake of a non-Ukrainian audience, I'll use the translations he provides, which show a varying lyrical quality, one of the better lines being “The trees blindly watch upwards as if they have to see the dance of stars”. The vocals, typical of depressive black metal, shift between spoken word, howling and whimpering, which grow unbearable in “Ein Düsterer...II” and “Weg Von...”, and are only vaguely tolerable on “Ein Düsterer..I”.
Some say that black metal is not to be analyzed, but more based on the emotions evoked from an album. Despite this philosophical approach, it doesn't redeem Illusionen Eines Verlorenen Lebens, one of the weaker DSBM albums I've heard. Black metal fanatics should look elsewhere, and those wanting to get into the genre should check out Sterbend or I Shalt Become. The ambient may have been good, but the black metal needs a lot of reworking.
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Angel's rating: 1/5
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