The Moth - Frost

2023-09-19 07:00:50

Good things take time, but it was there The Moth quite a while. Almost six years have passed since the release of “Hysteria”, but the world has by no means stood still for the Hamburg trio. In addition to a live presence and a label change, the doom sludge magicians had to experience and go through some strokes of fate, which is reflected in the astonishingly vulnerable lyrics. However, that doesn’t change the sheer intensity of their music, and that’s how it goes „Frost“ through marrow and bone.

The final “Silent” demonstrates it wonderfully, with casual sawing, oppressive reduction and double vocals that put the salvation of the soul to the test. There’s an incredible amount of pain here, and the subsequent synthetics underline the ominous character of this song and cut through the inner balance like a hot knife. It’s rarely that quiet – a track like “Bruised” is much more typical, compact and dirty, almost pointed and permeated by noticeable anger, even a bit of desperation. Here someone is trying to swim free and at the same time struggling to keep composure.

“Me, Myself & Enemy” opens the record head-on, dirty and fucked up. Not for the last time we hear that the entire album was recorded live within 24 hours. The decidedly harsh, dismissive production definitely speaks to the drastic experiences of the recent past, which are skilfully underlined by the almost warm-hearted, yet stubborn “Birmingham” – almost classic Doom, at least for The Moth. “Dust” stirs up the most wholesome dust and trudges through a kind of enchanted desert, accompanied by gripping vocals and oppressive distortion. The title song is also strong, taking doom sludge efforts to the extreme and allowing subliminal melodies to take hold. It even has slight post-punk vibes at times, as rough as it is entertaining.

A gray flower with a green style of hope grows out of the barren land: The Moth musically process an audibly turbulent time and look for a way forward. “Frost” reduces it even further, limiting the production itself to the essentials and instead capturing a spontaneous feeling in the studio, as harsh and spartan as it is intense. This unadulterated musical honesty is touching and moving – another powerful work from this fantastic trio.

Rating: 8/10

Available from: September 22, 2023
Available via: Exile On Mainstream Records (Cargo Records)

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