UMUR
"Rural" is the 2nd full-length studio album by Swedish Atmospheric Sludge Metal/Post-Hardcore act Moloken. The album was released through Discouraged Records in November 2011. Moloken hail from the small city of Holmsund, which serves as a port for Umeå (the city that spawned Meshuggah). holmsund/Umeå are situated in the northern part of Sweden.
...I guess the geography lesson is meant to portray why Moloken´s music is so dark and oppressive. There´s just something unique about those people coming from the northern part of Scandinavia. A bleak melancholic mood that Moloken successfully transfer to their music. Moloken play a blend of atmospheric sludge and post metal/hardcore. Acts like Neurosis and especially fellow Swedes Breach come to mind. The vocals are harsh and shouting but with an additional howling tone that reminds me slightly of how Luc Lemay sounded on "Obscura (1998)" by Gorguts. This is of course not death metal but the vocals are pretty extreme (to my great enjoyment).
There are seven tracks on the 52:14 minutes long album. All high quality material. The tempo is slow- mid paced with good variation. The tracks are generally structually challenging and it´s no surprise that the 16:23 minutes long centerpiece of the album titled "Ulv" takes the prize as the most progressively structured track. While most of the album is dark, chaotic, twisted and aggressive, "Rural" closes with "Åland" which is a mellow and atmospheric post rock track. A good choice for variation, which also gives the listener time to reflect over what he/she has just listened to. The way a tracklist is build, is a crucial ingredient of any successful album release and "Rural" features a really nice flow. Add to that an organic and powerful sound production and there´s little here to complain about.
..."Rural" has actually impressed me a lot more than my initial listen suggested, and I´ve ended up really enjoying the album. it´s dark, chaotic, aggressive, challenging and upon repeated spins some original elements have also revealed themselves. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.