MØL - Dreamcrush - Album Review

MØL - Dreamcrush - Album Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch/ILmBU-uXbjg

00:00:00.160 Hey, what's going on? Mole from Denmark
00:00:02.320 has a new album coming out on the 30th
00:00:04.240 of January. It is a phenomenal record
00:00:06.720 and Dererick and I are about to get into
00:00:08.320 it right now.
00:00:13.920 What's up, dude? Yeah. Uh, I am feeling
00:00:17.680 full of emotion having listened to Dream
00:00:21.119 Crush. Uh, what a what a record. And
00:00:24.960 full disclosure, I I am so tired of the
00:00:28.320 same sounding black metal. We get it in
00:00:30.960 the Hollix. We get it from the labels.
00:00:32.880 You go in and listen to new music and
00:00:34.880 there's a ton of black metal. I have no
00:00:37.280 problem with black metal, but what makes
00:00:39.440 me happy is that vocally, this band has
00:00:43.520 a black metal thing going on with the
00:00:46.399 raspy classic black metal vocals. But lo
00:00:50.000 and behold, it's sitting on top of some
00:00:52.800 serious melodic interesting music. And I
00:00:57.039 love the record.
00:00:57.920 >> Yeah, I do too. There are, as you said,
00:01:00.480 there's a lot there's some black metal
00:01:02.800 hallmarks in terms of vocal stylings.
00:01:05.360 There are points on the album where
00:01:06.720 musically the band gets pretty
00:01:08.080 aggressive. But by and large, I wouldn't
00:01:10.560 from an instrumental standpoint wouldn't
00:01:12.880 peg this band as a black metal band. But
00:01:15.840 they have got super aggressive vocals
00:01:18.080 and they've also got some nice clean
00:01:19.680 vocals in there as well. They are
00:01:21.280 apparently at least in Denmark
00:01:23.280 classified as black gays which was new
00:01:26.960 to me but again you know me I'm terrible
00:01:29.360 with genres but the definition I found
00:01:31.360 for black gays is part of the post black
00:01:34.799 metal movement blending the aggression
00:01:36.799 and screams of black metal with shoe
00:01:39.759 gaze textures.
00:01:41.360 >> I think that's a pretty good way of
00:01:43.360 saying it. And when I was telling some
00:01:46.240 friends of mine about what Mole sounds
00:01:48.479 like, I was saying, you think of the
00:01:50.399 deaf tones, think of turn style without
00:01:53.520 the salsa beats and and mixing it in
00:01:57.119 with, you know, black metal vocals with
00:02:00.719 some very very clean van
00:02:04.320 vocals. I just I found them refreshingly
00:02:07.600 innovative, different, and the fact of
00:02:10.080 the matter is is their music is I would
00:02:12.560 say, what's the word? I'm looking for
00:02:14.640 optimistic, very optimistic and yet it's
00:02:18.400 very aggressive. It's very emotional.
00:02:20.640 And when you read about the write up on
00:02:22.319 Nuclear Blast, it's talking about life
00:02:25.040 experiences, negative life experiences,
00:02:27.360 yet it's optim, you know, it's it's very
00:02:29.440 optimistic. So, I appreciate the album,
00:02:31.680 especially coming off my father dying
00:02:33.519 and and life events in the last couple
00:02:35.599 years. For me personally, the record
00:02:37.599 really hit home.
00:02:38.560 >> Mhm. As I understand it, Ken Lund, I'm
00:02:41.360 not even going to attempt your last
00:02:42.560 name. Good sir, because I will butcher
00:02:44.160 your last name.
00:02:45.519 >> Drum. Uh, yes, perhaps. Sorry, guys.
00:02:48.319 >> Cages. Yeah,
00:02:49.760 >> he's the drummer for the band. Holar
00:02:51.840 Frost on bass, Kim Sternoff on vocals,
00:02:55.040 Sigur Kelllet on guitars, and Nikolai
00:02:58.720 Boose or Busousy on guitars as well.
00:03:00.800 Again, apologies for for the the
00:03:03.360 terrible job I did pron pronouncing your
00:03:05.360 names, but
00:03:05.920 >> as Yeah, as Peter Steele used to say
00:03:08.239 when he first started traveling, we are
00:03:10.319 American ignoramis' and accurate.
00:03:12.800 >> We we are more than American ignoramuses
00:03:15.840 right now.
00:03:16.800 >> Yeah. So, that is the lineup for the
00:03:18.879 band. As I understand it, uh Ken and
00:03:21.519 Kim, drums and vocalists, tend to do
00:03:23.920 most of the songwriting. That is the
00:03:26.319 low-grade reporting that I got. And
00:03:28.480 you're absolutely right. Going back to
00:03:30.000 your point about it feeling like almost
00:03:31.680 uplifting. A lot of this album is
00:03:34.159 written in major chords and it's very
00:03:36.480 positive feeling and it's very up and I
00:03:38.959 I think when it was a couple days ago
00:03:40.720 you and I talked setting up the date for
00:03:42.480 this record. This is I described this as
00:03:44.959 a beautiful album and it I've had it
00:03:47.840 going for the better part of a week now
00:03:50.640 and it is a beautiful album. Yes,
00:03:53.200 there's aggression on there and there's
00:03:54.560 aggressive vocals and the band spools up
00:03:56.640 and gets into metal territory in various
00:03:59.280 places throughout the the record for
00:04:01.120 sure, but it is a very uplifting, very I
00:04:04.959 feel better at the end of the record
00:04:06.640 than I did before I started. And that
00:04:08.720 hasn't happened much in the last couple
00:04:10.640 of years with a few exceptions of
00:04:12.080 course, but this is a really really
00:04:15.280 lovely album and it spans a bunch of
00:04:18.399 different emotions and this will you
00:04:21.199 said it and I will echo the sentiment
00:04:22.880 that this is probably going to be in a
00:04:24.320 top album of the year list. Yeah, the
00:04:27.120 song Young is one of their releases and
00:04:29.840 it is just an earworm. The guitars are
00:04:33.520 just catchy as can be. They're not super
00:04:35.600 heavy. They're not super riffy, but they
00:04:38.320 just work. And then when you have the
00:04:41.440 the raspy black metal vocals over this
00:04:44.320 very melodic, catchy uh riff, it's just
00:04:47.840 you sit there and go, am I listening to
00:04:50.160 the like, did we did we get transported
00:04:52.479 to an alternative dimension here?
00:04:54.639 Because I haven't heard anything like
00:04:56.639 it. And you as a progressive guy, I'm
00:04:59.280 sure that this really scratches an itch
00:05:01.280 because it's different.
00:05:02.400 >> Mhm. Yeah. My notes for for this track
00:05:05.440 is that it's one of those songs that
00:05:07.759 really straddles the line between
00:05:09.919 positive and uplifting and dark and
00:05:11.840 brooding. Again, the use of the the
00:05:14.160 major chords versus minor chords and
00:05:16.479 dissonance and things like that. And
00:05:18.479 this they very successfully bounce back
00:05:20.560 and forth between those two vibes a lot
00:05:22.560 on this record, which among many other
00:05:24.960 reasons people will have for listening
00:05:26.720 to this. This, I think, would be an
00:05:28.560 excellent entry point for somebody who
00:05:30.639 wants to dabble their toes in slightly
00:05:32.960 more aggressive music because it is
00:05:35.440 there's so much of this record that is
00:05:37.199 calm and peaceful even when there's
00:05:39.520 aggressive vocals on top that I think
00:05:41.360 it's a very approachable. It's going to
00:05:43.120 be a very approachable album for the
00:05:44.880 masses because it is it is aggressive in
00:05:48.000 points and and loving and calm and
00:05:50.080 peaceful at points, but it's got
00:05:51.840 something for everybody and it's not so
00:05:53.759 in your face that non-metal folks won't
00:05:56.240 appreciate it.
00:05:57.039 >> Yeah. Songs like Garland start off very
00:05:59.280 very emotional and soft and by the end
00:06:02.240 of it you've got this borderline
00:06:04.720 progressive, you know, it's just all
00:06:07.120 over the place. a extravaganza of sound,
00:06:11.039 an orgy of sound, if you will. And it's
00:06:14.000 very emotional. You can really feel the
00:06:16.800 energy in that in this song. And I the
00:06:19.919 first time I heard it, I'm like, what am
00:06:21.600 I listening to in the best way possible?
00:06:24.160 I loved it. I could I put it on repeat.
00:06:27.120 I was going down to get my kids and I
00:06:29.520 couldn't get enough of it. And and that
00:06:32.479 led to one thing after another. And then
00:06:34.639 when Crush came out, I was like, my
00:06:36.560 goodness. And so when we got the advance
00:06:40.000 through Nuclear Blast, I downloaded I've
00:06:42.479 had it going for a week and I haven't
00:06:45.039 listened to really anything else. And I
00:06:47.440 love every second of this record. Very
00:06:49.680 rarely does that happen. I mean, I think
00:06:51.680 the last time that happened for me was
00:06:53.520 probably Spirit World last year and then
00:06:55.680 the year before that, you know, I loved
00:06:57.840 Blood Incantation, Absolute Elsewhere.
00:07:00.160 Those are my three, you know, this is my
00:07:02.240 favorite record and it's early in the
00:07:04.240 year, you know, but one of my three
00:07:05.840 favorite records that's come out over
00:07:07.919 the last three years. I think it's
00:07:09.520 absolutely just a stunning, beautiful
00:07:12.560 record like you said, but also
00:07:14.639 aggressive and it scratches that
00:07:16.560 aggressive itch and it also pulls
00:07:19.039 emotions out in you that you don't
00:07:21.440 expect when you're listening. And that
00:07:23.199 is beautiful art when you can look at a
00:07:24.880 painting and go, I feel that. Well, the
00:07:27.520 same thing here with this music. I think
00:07:29.440 that they did an excellent job of
00:07:31.120 portraying whatever emotion they were
00:07:33.440 trying to pull out of people that listen
00:07:36.000 to it and kudos to them.
00:07:37.919 >> I I reference Pink Floyd often when
00:07:40.639 talking about music that has the power
00:07:43.599 to change the way you feel. And
00:07:45.120 obviously lots of bands can fall on
00:07:47.120 people's lists, you know, that can move
00:07:49.360 move you. And this I had that experience
00:07:52.319 with this album, too. And it's rare. It
00:07:54.160 doesn't happen that often. And uh
00:07:56.240 they're a relatively young band. and
00:07:58.479 this is their third album and uh it's I
00:08:00.800 I masterpiece or masterful are are very
00:08:04.319 pointed terms, but this this record is
00:08:07.120 pretty damn close. It's a it's just a
00:08:09.199 really impressive outing. Um
00:08:13.039 >> and uh well, going back to uh to
00:08:15.199 Garland, that's the first single on the
00:08:17.039 album. And if you like Garland, I think
00:08:19.440 you're going to love the rest of the
00:08:20.560 album. I mean, it's very representative
00:08:22.960 of the kind of music that's on this on
00:08:25.440 this record. So, if you've heard it and
00:08:26.720 you like it, man, you're going to love
00:08:28.000 the album.
00:08:28.879 >> Sonically, it's huge, too. Like, this is
00:08:31.039 written to fill massive stadiums. Like,
00:08:33.279 the guitar solos, they're using the same
00:08:35.919 effects, the same tones that Turnst
00:08:38.080 Styles using. And Turn Styles filling up
00:08:40.000 stadiums now. And I could see the the
00:08:42.080 the difference with their last record,
00:08:44.159 their guitar, their guitar tones,
00:08:46.480 especially for the solos, the big echoey
00:08:48.959 sound. And it's just it's just
00:08:50.880 brilliant. And I think that they knew
00:08:53.120 that they came up with a really really
00:08:55.920 solid record and they've given the
00:08:58.080 tonality the uh the the the space. It's
00:09:02.080 going to fill up spaces and it's going
00:09:05.040 to move people. You know, it's not a
00:09:07.600 dream crusher. If anything, this is it
00:09:10.240 should inspire you to be able to get
00:09:12.240 over whatever it is that's a life event
00:09:15.040 that actually tears you down because I
00:09:17.920 leave this album every single time I
00:09:20.080 listen to it feeling invigorated. And
00:09:22.800 that's rare for a metal record. And
00:09:25.040 again, I don't know if this is a metal
00:09:26.560 record. I don't know you know what black
00:09:29.279 gaze is. Is that is that the right term?
00:09:31.680 >> Black Yeah, black gaze.
00:09:33.839 >> Yeah. I don't know what that is, but I
00:09:35.839 will research it and shame on me. Bad
00:09:38.320 reporting to not know what that is. But,
00:09:40.560 you know, I think that the comparisons
00:09:42.480 to the other bands, you know, everything
00:09:44.560 from Pink Floyd to Death Tones to
00:09:46.720 Turnstyle to Baie, you know, with Black
00:09:49.519 Metal or whatever. Pick your Pick Your
00:09:51.200 Poison with Black Metal. It all works
00:09:53.360 and they all fit in with those bands.
00:09:55.920 And I think that the the sky's is the
00:09:58.160 limit and Dream Crush is going to
00:10:00.399 absolutely um you know send them to the
00:10:03.200 stratosphere.
00:10:04.080 >> Yeah, it's from a production standpoint,
00:10:06.160 it's a it's a really well-mixed album.
00:10:08.800 As you said, there's space for all the
00:10:10.640 instruments on there and they do have
00:10:13.200 there's a number of moments on the album
00:10:14.800 where it's just like a wall of guitar.
00:10:17.920 >> Mhm.
00:10:18.399 >> You know, but it's it's panned
00:10:20.560 perfectly. everything has room to
00:10:22.800 breathe even though it's it's a wall of
00:10:25.279 sound. The tones that they chose are
00:10:27.600 phenomenal. Great guitar tones. It is a
00:10:30.160 a beautifully put together album and at
00:10:32.399 at the risk of gushing um it it's just
00:10:36.720 it's a fantastic bit of work and I'm
00:10:39.040 really happy to have have gotten into
00:10:40.880 it. Um you know you start the album
00:10:43.839 again we have an advanced copy so we've
00:10:46.160 we've got the goods that other people
00:10:47.920 don't have yet. It starts with the a
00:10:50.320 track called Dream and it's this
00:10:52.000 beautiful like really ethereal intro and
00:10:54.800 it just kind of like it feels like it's
00:10:56.959 tucking you into bed a little bit when
00:10:58.640 it starts off. It's very cinematic and
00:11:01.440 almost has like a John Hughes movie
00:11:04.079 cinematic vibe to it, which is a
00:11:05.920 reference the younger folks might not
00:11:08.079 get, but then you get a taste of what
00:11:09.519 the the rest of the album's going to be
00:11:11.120 like with some great heavy riffs coming
00:11:12.880 at at the back half of the first song.
00:11:15.200 And it's it's it's really well laid out.
00:11:18.240 We mentioned I mentioned Failure as one
00:11:20.800 of my all-time favorite bands in our in
00:11:22.880 our last episode and there were a couple
00:11:25.360 of tracks, one song in particular. Uh,
00:11:28.000 Favor has some moments in there that
00:11:30.399 that feel very failureesque and to me
00:11:33.040 like Failure is a band that moves me
00:11:34.800 quite a bit. And when I picked up some
00:11:36.640 of these vibes, and not to say that they
00:11:38.800 sound like Failure or anything like
00:11:40.240 that, but I thought, "Oh man, here we
00:11:42.640 go. Here we go. This is This is one of
00:11:44.800 those bands that just clicks and hits so
00:11:47.440 many spots. I'm excited. I'm excited
00:11:49.680 about this record. I'm excited for more
00:11:52.800 people to hear it, too, because I think
00:11:54.640 it's got something different that other
00:11:57.200 bands aren't doing, and that's exciting,
00:11:59.200 too.
00:11:59.519 >> Yeah. My dog just walked by. I don't
00:12:01.600 know if you if it was picked up of him
00:12:03.920 drinking water. He always seems to do
00:12:06.160 this when I'm recording. He has listened
00:12:08.240 to this record more than probably, you
00:12:10.639 know, everybody who's watching this
00:12:12.000 podcast. and he hasn't complained about
00:12:13.920 it yet. So that that's good. But
00:12:16.560 >> again, I feel like I'm gushing as well.
00:12:19.360 And if we still did
00:12:21.120 >> scores, I'd give it a 10 out of 10.
00:12:23.760 >> Go listen to it. Whether you're a black
00:12:26.000 metal fan, whether you like alternative
00:12:28.399 rock,
00:12:28.800 >> shoe gaze,
00:12:29.920 >> whatever shoe, you know, whatever it is,
00:12:32.639 this is probably going to sit across a
00:12:35.760 lot of genres and work for a lot of
00:12:39.120 people. We've talked about trying to get
00:12:40.959 Monty Connor from Nuclear Blast to come
00:12:43.279 on just because he he does these amazing
00:12:45.519 storytelling of album art on social
00:12:48.079 media and I'd love to talk to him just
00:12:49.760 stories because he started Roadrunner
00:12:51.920 and he signed you know Sepura and Typo
00:12:54.720 Negative and all these bands but I want
00:12:56.880 to know if he was the one that found
00:12:59.519 this band and what was it that he heard
00:13:02.320 and what did he do or whoever at Nuclear
00:13:05.760 Blast did to bring out the best in this
00:13:08.560 band Because again, I don't we're [ __ ]
00:13:10.959 talk reviews. We're supposed to [ __ ]
00:13:12.320 talk each other and [ __ ] talk things and
00:13:14.800 we're not shit-talking. We're gushing.
00:13:16.560 We are in full bloom love with uh you
00:13:19.920 know, Dream Crush. And rightfully so. I
00:13:22.320 think everybody that a lot of people
00:13:24.160 will listen to this and and feel the
00:13:25.760 same way.
00:13:26.240 >> I don't disagree with any of that. And
00:13:28.800 we are we are working to get the band on
00:13:31.040 for a chat. As you said, Derek, you're
00:13:32.959 working to get Monty hopefully to come
00:13:35.040 on and chat with us for a little bit. I
00:13:36.880 mean, talk about a man that is a wealth
00:13:39.120 of industry knowledge, especially in the
00:13:41.600 heavy music world. Would love to love to
00:13:43.839 chat with him for a little while. We've
00:13:45.360 got a bunch of other interviews we're
00:13:46.639 working on setting up this year, too.
00:13:48.000 We're hoping it's going to be a a year
00:13:49.920 full of good conversations with cool
00:13:52.079 people. Yeah. Well, with that, Maul, uh,
00:13:55.120 Dream Crush, it's coming out January
00:13:57.360 30th on Nuclear Blast. It is an absolute
00:14:01.199 home run. It's a touchdown. Pick your
00:14:03.600 sport. It's a goal. just very very good.
00:14:06.399 It's grimy one second and it's just
00:14:09.279 optimistic and beautiful the next. And
00:14:11.519 that is to me perfect artwork.
00:14:14.160 >> You know what? You're right. Everything
00:14:16.000 you just said is spot on. One of the
00:14:17.839 things that I'd like to throw out there
00:14:19.199 too for for those folks who might want
00:14:21.600 to check out some more aggressive stuff.
00:14:23.920 We talk about you know the black metal
00:14:26.079 style vocals and they are aggressive
00:14:27.839 vocals but in the context of this album
00:14:31.120 they are mixed in such a way that they
00:14:32.959 are it's not like somebody is screaming
00:14:35.279 in your face you know
00:14:37.360 >> it is yes they are screamy screo
00:14:40.959 aggressive aggro vocals but in the
00:14:43.440 context of the album they're almost
00:14:46.560 almost soft you know they they've got
00:14:49.360 edgy and they're they're throaty but
00:14:51.680 it's not over the top and it doesn't
00:14:53.760 take anything away from some of the
00:14:55.519 beautiful interludes that are happening
00:14:57.199 underneath it. Props to the production
00:14:59.120 team and the and writing on this record
00:15:01.440 as well cuz it's just it's topnotch.
00:15:03.680 Can't wait to uh to find these guys and
00:15:05.519 and get them on. And Stern when he sings
00:15:09.120 he really you can see the pain like his
00:15:12.160 the videos.
00:15:13.519 >> Mhm. And we'll post those on our page
00:15:16.240 you know where the where the podcast is
00:15:18.560 resides. But he really you can really
00:15:21.040 feel it and he's into it. He really lets
00:15:23.360 it out. And um I'm curious if they ever
00:15:25.680 make it to the States. I will be there
00:15:27.760 wherever they end up in New England. I I
00:15:29.920 will I will be there with bells and
00:15:31.519 whistles.
00:15:32.320 >> So yeah, check check them out. Enough
00:15:34.639 gushing.
00:15:35.279 >> Absolutely. Uh if you've made it this
00:15:36.959 far in the video, we appreciate you.
00:15:39.760 Subscribe to the channel, like the
00:15:41.120 video, share to your friends. Definitely
00:15:43.120 share this this uh episode with your
00:15:45.519 friends. More people need to know about
00:15:47.519 this band. So, let's uh spread the word
00:15:49.839 far and wide because they are a the
00:15:51.759 album is deserving of attention. Well,
00:15:53.839 that's our take anyway. We could be
00:15:55.199 wrong. If you disagree, throw a comment
00:15:56.959 down below and tell us why you think
00:15:59.199 we're idiots or
00:16:00.720 >> Yeah, I'm fragile, but we'll take it.
00:16:03.279 >> I'm not I don't care. You know, I've had
00:16:05.279 enough bad life experiences and Mole has
00:16:08.160 helped me drag me through it to the
00:16:10.079 point where I no longer care.
00:16:11.519 >> On that note, an excellent album. It's
00:16:13.759 been a pleasure to listen to. It's going
00:16:15.199 to stay on my playlist and I will uh see
00:16:17.519 you on the next one, Derek.
00:16:18.720 >> Sounds good. Looking forward to it.
00:16:20.079 >> All right, man. See you.