The Moth : "Frost"

 The new album from this German trio is an interesting blend of fuzzed-out dark sounds. The vocals are layered, and the guitars drive things in a sludge direction. This is their first album for Exile on Mainstream and is a good snapshot of who this band is. There is a punk simplicity, but a rich layering of vocal melodies thanks to the voice of Cecile Ash. She manages to be equally commanding and despondent. The drummer keeps busy at pounding the point home. On a song like "Bruised' the music is heavier than expected yet still allows the vocals the space for their hypnotic chants.

These guys might self identify as doom band , but ''Cathedral" is the first song where I can hear this genre creeping into what they do. Funny enough the riffs remind me of the band Cathedral, which I wonder if is intentional. For a trio they churn out a pretty big sound. "Hundreds" has more of an ambling grunge feel to it. The more grime tinged distortion of  the title track, is one of the album's heavier moments. It also finds the vocals of guitarist Freden coming up in the mix to take a more prominent role. The song also drones a little more. Ash's vocals serve as a fitting counter point that is true to the mood. 

The phrashing of the vocals on "In the City" reminds me of Motorhead. They drone with more drive on "Dust". Freden's vocals come to the forefront again on "Silent" which closes the album with a creepier mood that what they have delivered thus far. The guitars drone more than the vocal with this one . While the songs do tend to drone a bit the mood compensates, I will give this one a 9.5, and see how it grows on me, but this band is a breath of fresh air when it comes to heavy music as they are not jumping on any band wagons. This album drops September 22nd.