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MOLD
Ancients EP

Self-released (2022)
Rating: 7.5/10

A few years ago I picked up an excellent demo by a Danish band called Mold who, rather unfortunately, disappeared shortly afterwards. I then heard that a band called Mold – possibly the same one – was to release an EP entitled Ancients, but it turns out that this particular Mold is a black metal duo from Pennsylvania featuring Anomandaris (guitar, bass and vocals) and Icarium (drums and vocals).

Thinking I was going to be disappointed I sort of nonchalantly tuned into this debut release, but was pleasantly surprised by its unholy nature, particularly on the seven-minute ‘Doomed To Die On Distant Shores’ which is my favourite song on offer. Imagine a black, seeping mass escaping from a crack in a wall, slowly oozing down the pallid face and smothering the floor. This is how I imagine ‘Doomed…’; a grim, snarling and eerie discharge hinting at some of black metal’s wickedest yet slow-motion expressions.

The guitar tone throughout this EP is macabre and chilling. Opener ‘Fate Lay In Wait’ drifts down the spine like an unearthly presence. It’s distant, remote but riddled with distortion, and that’s just the intro before ‘Ruiner’ comes raging in punky, silted fashion complete with barking vocal snaps.

There’s certainly influence here from that second wave of evil black metal, with Mold crafting flashes of Bathory but drifting towards a more stark primitive style of grimness flaired with punk attitude.

The same can be said for ‘We Are The Ancients’, where again there’s that feeling of dread with the stripped back chords and then that blizzard of spiky drums and guitar. It’s still good to hear primitive bands barking out the purest ingredients of black metal and still engaging rather than boring the audience.

As no frills as it may be, Mold’s debut outing still delivers the goods in sub-zero fashion.

Neil Arnold

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