Kev Rowland The Moth Gatherer are back with their third full-length album, again centered around atmospheric doom, sludge and post metal. Formed in 2008 by Victor Wegeborn and Alex Stjernfeldt, as a form of therapy to help them deal with loss, the band name is an allegory for finding hope; similar to moths who are always searching for the light. The band has changed over the years, growing in size although musically always staying close to their roots, but there has been quite a dramatic shift this time as although Alex provided the lyrics, he has now left the band with Victor now providing vocals, guitar and electronics. He is joined by Ronny Westphal (guitars), Svante Karlsson (drums) and Dan Hemgren (bass).

The band play incredibly slowly, but the post metal atmospheric sound mean they never seem to be struggling in a morass, rather the atmosphere is so pervasive on everything they do that it just isn’t possible to play any more quickly. They are less like searching for moths in the night than an army walking over a moor shrouded in fog. It is incredibly evocative music, which is heavy but also dreamlike, as the band toy with Burzum-style black metal without ever really embracing it as they move in a different direction. This is music to get lost inside, and when they move away from the intensity into something lighter it is as if a sunbeam has pierced the all-enveloping mist, but soon it is back again. This is music which feels ancient, as if it is linked to the bones of the earth, with vocals full of passion and pain. This is incredibly deep music, far more than just another metal album, and expects the listener to pay close attention. Highly recommended to be played on headphones, it just doesn’t seem to work any other way. Impressive stuff indeed, but not for the fainthearted.

Kev Rowland The Swedish duo of Alex Stjernfeldt and Victor Wegeborn have created quite an album here, with opening number “The Water That We All Come To Need” being one of the heaviest songs I have ever heard! But, there is much more to these guys than sheer brutality and power as demonstrated by the next number, which is much more like classic Paradise Lost. There is loads of emotion on this album, all of it dark with a feeling of loss and introverted depression. This is not music to play when you are down the rabbit hole, as it were. Stjernfeldt says “We just want our music to be an emotional explosion. A lot of the songs are about death, missing people you loved who have passed away and losing hope in mankind. We want the music to make you feel like you can move mountains with it. I wish for that when people hear our music, they start to dream away.”

I’m not sure that dreaming is the right way to go about this, as if you go to sleep not long after playing this then your dreams are probably going to be much more in the realms of nightmares, but as for moving mountains I am sure that if you can find speakers large enough then this album could at least demolish a small hill. But, it’s not all about sludge and heaviness as ambient styles and even progressive/experimental all have their place to play in an album that certainly does not feel like a debut. An obvious comparison in many ways is Neurosis, and all in all this promises a ‘bright’ (although to be honest that should read gloomy and depressing) future for the guys. For more details visit their site at www.themothgatherer.com

J-Man With a sound that submerges its listener into melancholy and darkness, Swedish outfit The Moth Gatherer's A Bright Celestial Light should appeal to anyone in the market for ominous, haunting, and often times beautiful sludge metal. The duo's 2013 debut consists of lengthy and highly atmospheric compositions that strike me as rather ambient and minimalist, but their sophisticated approach to the style makes for an album that is also quite detailed and complex. Although A Bright Celestial Light probably won't appeal to fans of more upbeat music, there's no denying that The Moth Gatherer has arrived with one of the year's most impressive journeys through the darker side of human emotion.

The Moth Gather's music borrows primarily from sludge metal and post metal; there are plenty of detours into pure post rock, electronic, and ambient territory for sure, but the core of the band's sound is raw, filthy-as-hell sludge metal. The heavy, droning riffs combined with the pummeling drumwork and shouted vocals make for quite an intense listen, though melodic tendencies and mellow (but still incredibly melancholic) sections pop up quite frequently. A Bright Celestial Light maintains an introverted atmosphere throughout its entire duration, and I think the album's ability to sound musically diverse while maintaining a consistent atmosphere is perhaps its greatest asset. The raw, spacey production is also noteworthy, as it almost gives the impression that the band is playing right in front of you. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

Although A Bright Celestial Light's dynamic, aggressive, and melancholic nature means that more casual listeners may not appreciate its brilliance, anybody willing to dedicate some extra time to this one will undoubtedly be rewarded in the end. The Moth Gatherer has released one hell of a debut for sure, and fans of acts like Neurosis, The Ocean, and Cult of Luna won't want to miss it!

Time Signature Intervention...

Genre: experimental sludge-metal

Hailing from Sweden, The Moth Gatherer is a duo whose musical expressive sphere evolves around sludgy darkness.

Their debut album "A Bright Celestial Light" contains five tracks, which are at one and the same time sludgy and complex. The complexity stems from the juxtaposition of various passages and inclusion of carious sound elements (including both noise and electronica), as well as a generally dynamic approach to song structure.

But overall, the riffage is very sludgy and quite minimalistic, and the drumbeats heavy and doomladden. Inherited from sludge metal's hardcore roots, the vocals are harsh and more yelled than sung. And, it is in part from its sludgy side that the album gets it dark expressive character.

Also drawing on the introvert approach from depressive alternative rock, as was popular in the 90s, the album features several darkly mellow passages, sometimes bringing to mind the same melancholy of Paradise Lost's least metallic releases.

Fans of Neurosis and Cult of Luna, as well as darker and heavier alternative rock, are likely to enjoy this introvert, yet strangely aggressive experimental sludgefest.