The Cave of Metaphysical Darkness & Lights by Moloch Conspiracy

Moloch Conspiracy
The Cave of Metaphysical Darkness & Lights (Eighth Tower Records; CD/DL)

ENCHANTED DARKNESS: On the sophomore effort by Moloch Conspiracy a darkened ambient goth-wave emerges on this limited edition disc in only 50 copies on Italian imprint Eighth Tower. We are At the entrance to the cave, and it’s as though the elongated chant and cavernous space are a mysterious passageway into which we’re surrounded by footsteps and cooling drone. The synth structure, emulating male voice/s, is drenched in ancient un/holy secrets. If you reduced Sisters of Mercy to pure sonics, added wavy ambient (and a hint of industrial flair), and left the unpolished engine, you have something kin. This is pure unadulterated atmosphere with a capital ‘A’ with the tracks easily flowing into each other as if it were a singular lengthy piece, yet it’s broken into seven parts. I hardly noticed that Fear of stones was an extension of the previous.

The deep bass drone sort of reverberates in the center of your chest if you listen with a slight bit of volume, and because there are intriguing details on the low end you will want to crank it some. Kulullû is a mind-meld from the onset. Employed delicately here are layers of wise instrumentation including piano, cello, timpani, duduk, gusle and various discreet field recordings that fuse so well into the overall canvas they are a complete metamorphosis from their original form. At one moment I’m in an old Japanese village, in the next in a European hi-speed rail station listening to trains speed by on squelching tracks. Uunslit provides the disorienting out-of-body vocal on the grey area of ambient which is Apsû. With the zing of strings and disembodied feel the piece floats in whispery uncertainty. It transports the listener to a place of slumber.

And below us runs The subterranean river, it’s a bodiless dimension, watery and semiopaque with unearthed vocal treatments, intruders from the murky depths. As the track continues the volume and bass grow with inebriating secrecy. Perfectly paired with The awful ritual, we are now aligned with a hypnotic mix & other treatments by German electronic musician Niculta (Nico Döring). The edges of the drone seem to braid into themselves in a quasi Ouroboros-style leaving way for the Epilogue. With grumble n’ roll, delicate piano trill and squeaky wheels, the track emotes of unlocked mystery.