Genre: Sludge/hardcore
Origin: Sweden
Released: 2009
Website: Moloken
Label: Discouraged Records
Uploaded: 18.04.10

I've been waiting for this promo for a long time. Not 'cause I was eagerly anticipating it (fact is I can't recall to have even heard of them previous to their e-mail asking me if I was interested in receiving a promo), but 'cause it took forever to get here. Several months must've gone by before the lads realized they'd probably just forgotten to send me a copy. But oh well, better late then never, at least in this case. I've received tons of crappy and half-arsed promos I wish had been lost in the mail so I didn't have to listen to the crap, but I'm damn thankful I finally got an earful of this dissonant hardcore sludge labeled Our astral circle. It's their debut album, and it's a fairly young band, but it sounds extremely mature and well-developed.
I rarely listen to this kind of hardcorized sludge, or sludgy hardcore if you wish. Not that I don't like it, I just don't know of many quality acts. Icos would probably be my first choice, and Moloken have got some similarities with said band, but the closest in comparison is without a doubt Cult of Luna. I'm sure they've been compared to Cult of Luna quite a number of times, so I'm reluctant to make that comparison myself since it feels like a redundant, and also boring, remark. I'm pretty certain people will connect some far-off dots and compare it to both Isis and Neurosis as well, but let's face it; they've got nothing on Moloken.
I'm really impressed by how mature and full their sound is. This doesn't feel like the first album of a young band, but like the third album by a band that's taken their time to hone their skills and develop their sound. From the first ultra-heavy and extremely groovy riff of Molten pantheon to the last grief-strucken note of 11"12 this is a pure gut-punch. The drumming is a constant showcase of imaginative, versatile and technical pounding. Despite the slow tempo they throw in so many variations in drum patterns it's enough to fill ten regular doom albums. I'm constantly on the edge of my seat, never really sure what'll happen next. The guitars are absolutely rampaging, and displays everything from dissonant melodies to chugging hardcore breaks, and it blends perfectly with the powerful drum performance and heavy bass-work. Vocally it's tortured and anguished, everything in a hoarse manner that gnaws its way into the mind of the listener. Top-notch vocal delivery, with enough desperation to put most depressive black metal vocalists to shame.
One of my favourite tracks is Followers, which possess an oh-so-heavy section of groove towards the end, and also screams that sounds like they're on the verge of shredding the vocal cords of the man behind it. And I just can't help myself, I have to shout along. But I guess I have to state Molten pantheon as another favourite, simply for being an utterly magnificent song. As I said I'm extremely impressed. Our astral circle manages to sound heavy as a ten-ton hammer all the way through its 54 minutes, withouth hesitation. No matter if it's a long instrumental passage, an intense moment of in-your-face anguish or just an immense amount of groove, Moloken never falters. I can't wait to hear more from this band, and this is bound to become one of this year's best debuts.

Tracklist:
01. Molten pantheon
02. Untitled I
03. Die fear will
04. Followers
05. Untitled II
06. Ebeorietemet
07. My enemy
08. Untitled III
09. 11"12