Once you get into the meat of MØL’s new album Dreamcrush (Nuclear Blast Records), it’s clear they went heavy on the crush and lighter on the dreaming. The first couple of songs might fool you into thinking this is going to be a more Deafheaven-like affair, but that is not what really happens.

The vocals carry more of a Hardcore fervor than Black Metal hatred when they are snarled. To the band’s credit, they do not live off harsh vocals, as they employ a range of vocal colors. Their forte here is not melody, as much as it is being able to jerk the grooves back, and messing with the rhythm. There is less Metal in the second song, “små forlis.” The sung vocals take a more pronounced role, though they are dynamically all over the place, more effective than the predictable good cop/ bad cop formula.

“Young” is where the guitar takes a more notable turn. By metal, here we are speaking of the more European flavor of melodic progressive metal when the guitar melodies sweep in. When they wade too far into these waters, there is less sense of the established identity of this band in play. They find a more experimental balance on “Hud.” At times, things feel like they are a more shoegazing version of Kvelertak. “Garland” splits the difference with a more hooky songwriting template over even the accelerated sections of guitar. The production is very clean and spacious, which makes me think of late nineties Progressive Metal. “Favour” is the first song that really hints that there might be a Black Metal influence to them in the screamed vocals.
The sung vocal hook works well on “A Former Blueprint,” one of the best dynamically balanced songs on this album. “Dissonance” proves that they are not just limited to using sung vocals when it comes to hooky songwriting. “Mimic” is more metallic, bringing to mind a band like Scar Symmetry. Very precise chugging.The solo section is perhaps almost clean, though some of this might lie in the production of this album, which captures big songs with a great deal of space that is not the most organic-sounding. The last song “CRUSH” might be one of the album’s most accessible, with its rock-influenced riffs. The arrangements are more intersting than your typical verse-chorus, radio fodder.

Overall, the production and some of their musical choices could stand to be darker if your tastes lean toward metal that actual sound evil, and not some guys going to Berklee. Though this album should prove to be a fun listen for most fans of Prog Metal.

Buy the album here:
https://moeldk.bandcamp.com/album/dreamcrush

8 /10
WIL CIFER
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