Band:	Moloch
Album:	Verwüstung
Style:	Ambient black metal
Release date:	March 25, 2014
A review by:	ScreamingSteelUS

01. Todesstille
02. Blutmond
03. Spiritueller Selbstmord
04. Negativität
05. Nur Der Tod Ist Wirklich
06. Die Kälte Der Ewigkeit
07. Du Bist Nichts In Dieser Sterbenden Welt
08. Verwüstung

If you are a fan of one-man black metal projects, then Moloch's Verwüstung is the thing for you. If you are not a fan of one-man black metal projects, then get over here and listen, you filthy heathen.

The first five minutes and 17 seconds of Verwüstung can be effectively described as an unnecessarily lengthy intro. In fact, "Todesstille" so completely lacks activity that I'd attribute any accidental audio to Brownian motion. I was about ready to call it quits after a longer absence of music than I usually prefer, but fortunately track number two swooped in to save the day. "Blutmond" reveals the true nature of Verwüstung with its first muffled, discordant notes: this is black metal. It is old school black metal, unmistakably, with no stabs at symphony, extended atmospheric journeys, or any of the more esoteric elements that black metal artists have come to flirt with in the last couple of decades.

Verwüstung is a mixture of one part ambient and three parts black metal - pretty conventional black metal, but well-made. Everything meshes well on this album, with no one aspect overshadowing the rest. "Spiritueller Selbtsmord," if I had to choose a highlight, left the most positive impression on me, with "Die Kälte Der Ewigkeit" also earning honorable mention. Sergiy Fjordsson, the lone wolf behind Moloch, doesn't exactly growl in typical black metal fashion, but rather half-screeches and half-wails his way around in a manner just slightly more Bethlehem than the usual fare.

After six tracks of consistent black metal, the album comes full circle with an ambient title track that would have served better breaking up that big chunk of black metal than ending the album on a boring note. An 11-minute quiet rumbling punctuated by the occasional smattering of dysphonic piano plunking does not so much bring the album to a creepy, spine-tingling close as give the impression that the studio is haunted by a very boring poltergeist. The majority of the album, however, is well-executed and more pleasing to the ear.

There might be nothing outstanding or noteworthy about Verwüstung, but innovation isn't always a prerequisite for making a good album. If you have ever listened to black metal before, this album will most likely not surprise you, but Verwüstung is definitely worth investigating.