Band:	Molten
Album:	Dystopian Syndrome
Style:	Death metal, Thrash metal
Release date:	January 2021
A review by:	nikarg

01. Shadows In Quarantine
02. Virulence
03. Dystopian Syndrome
04. Un Sepulcro De Honor
05. Holy Macabre
06. Zombie's Curse
07. On Through Phlegethon
08. The Void
09. Rising Embers

This is a bloody death/thrash riot, packed with heavy metal hooks.

Quick introduction: Molten come from San Francisco (where the best kind of thrash metal was once made) and Dystopian Syndrome is their debut. And this debut has everything a no-frills metal fan wants; headbanging riffs, body-moving bass rhythms, menacing and versatile vocals, pounding drums, and intricate solos appearing everywhere and often when you least expect them.

Much like Skeleton in 2020 - and although we are still at a very early stage in 2021 - Molten may very well be the thrash metal revelation for this year. This genre desperately needs new blood and new ideas, but more importantly it needs good and inventive songwriting. And Molten deliver in spades in the songwriting department, which is fairly unpredictable but also catchy as hell.

Despite the fact that Dystopian Syndrome is a death-loving thrash metal record, it very much relies on traditional heavy metal as well, particularly as far as the lead guitar work is concerned, and this is evident right from the get-go with the soloing extravaganza of "Virulence". Another characteristic of this album is the relative diversity of the songs as far as the speed and the structure is concerned. It is great fun to experience the shift from the metal thrashing madness of "Holy Macabre" and the punk/thrash, pulse rate-maximizing "Zombie's Curse" to the stomping and doomy "On Through Phlegethon", and the groovy and melodic, black metal-touching "The Void". And I particularly love how the album starts and finishes in the same way, like coming full circle. Both "Virulence" and "Rising Embers" have an epic and progressive feel to them, being the longer songs and the ones that manifest the more mood changes within.

The production is fantastic for this sort of music; the drum sound is deep and organic, the lead guitar feels warm and offers a welcoming contrast to the brutal riffing and the aggressive vocals, and there is a lot of room given to the bass which is really a treat for bass lovers like yours truly.

It is not easy to wear an old-school vest but at the same time not shamelessly copycatting anyone. Dystopian Syndrome is alternately heavy and melodic, and an extremely satisfying embodiment of the combined energies of thrash, death, and heavy metal.

"When there's no more room in hell
The dead will walk the earth
If you've got no soul to sell
Then what the fuck's your worth?"