Blod-draum

History is not always most kind to the best among us. Quality is not what determines popularity, though of course it’s often (not always) a factor; being there first, being there when the style of music you play is popular, being from a country that has a supportive scene, being on the right label, touring, having good distribution, and any number of other factors are what really decide who makes it. The band that this review concerns is, to me, among the highest levels of proof of this.

Molested were a relatively short-lived group from Bergen, Norway, which has never been a country known for its death metal, and they came just a little too late to even hope to catch onto the fans who might have most appreciated them. Their singular album and the topic we’re here to discuss, Blod-Draum, was released on a friend’s label who did not have the time, money, or connections to properly handle the album. A couple of years later, the band released a final EP and broke up. The album did not do well, and remained largely unknown until the internet revived it somewhat, but even in spite of that, Blod-Draum is just not a popular album.

In spite of all of these issues, to a certain crowd, Molested are one of the greats. I am included in this group. Blod-Draum, for all the production quirks given to it by the circumstances of its birth, is an absolute behemoth of death and annihilation. It sings of despair and wrath, the forces of darkness, and, surprisingly for the genre, even sometimes provides a hymn to the cold beauty of nature.

The core sound of the album is a bit difficult to describe, as there are no direct comparisons or peers that can be used to draw similarities to. There exists some of the suffocating murk of Incantation, the deep bellowed growls that could be compared to Finnish or even Greek vocalists, and a heavy tinge of Norwegian folk melody that complements the strong melodic approach of the entire album. The core of the album are heavy tremolo riffs that spiral through complex song structures tending more towards the frenetic than towards the more atmospheric, repetition-heavy approach that so many black metal bands in the country were taking at the time, and the guitars are backed by loud bass and extraordinarily fast drumming that drives along the music.

There aren’t really “brutal” or heavy death metal riffs on here, which is another degree of separation from the average death metal album; the riffs are by and large arpeggiated tremolo lines and thick chords following relatively short but quick phrases, and riff changes are nearly as rapidfire as the drums. Sometimes these rhythms are replaced by longer haunting melodies, but even the rhythms tend to follow fairly melodic progressions; if not for the aggression of the drums, the general suffocating atmosphere of the songs, and the insanity of the quick tempo changes one could even suggest that this would appeal to melodic death metal fans.

An absolutely bewildering amount is going on in each song, requiring quite a few relistens to really absorb the material, but the result is entirely worth it, as the songwriting quality is miles ahead of anything most death metal bands even thought of attempting. Between and sometimes during songs are instrumental sections of folk instruments, and these serve to both break up the insanity a bit and to transition between certain songs; though the efficacy of these folk bits is largely up to the ears of the beholder, I really like them, and think they add to the charm of the album. None of this is to suggest that it’s impossible on first listen to latch onto the album, as each song possesses incredibly memorable hooks that will immediately catch those inclined towards the more bizarre and melodic side of death metal.

Flaws that I can find with Blod-Draum outside of the band’s stupid name are entirely limited to the production, which on the original mix of the album conceals some of the music. I would highly suggest tracking down the 2017 remix of it in addition to the original mix, not because the original mix isn’t worth owning (I listen to it as much or more as the remix), but because it’s worth hearing both so that you can listen to the album the way the band intended it when it was first recorded twenty five years ago.

Some will say that nothing in life can be said to be truly perfect; however, within the realm of death metal, this album is for me about as close as it gets. Blod-Draum stands together proudly in my favorites with Slumber of Sullen Eyes, Altars of Madness, Diabolical Conquest, and Mental Funeral, and hopefully, if you give it a shot, it can be so esteemed for you, too.

Originally written for Toilet Ov Hell.

Chaos is a good place to start when talking about "Blod-draum", but the songwriting shows great finesse for shaping chaos into unmercifully brutal and unreasonably fast 'Red in The Sky is Ours' levels of compositionally complex atmospheric avant-death metal music. The ever-heightening references into folk metal and avant-garde extreme metal of the time resemble a blur of brutality that would shape into the more "evolved" form of Borknagar. Though stylistically it resembles a pure death metal precursor to an album like Aeternus 'Beyond the Wandering Moon'. Nods into folk metal ("Following the Growls") and avant-garde, by death metal standards, tracks like "Blod Draum" where a chorus of mouth harps accompany a wave of blast beats, make a great case for why this album endures so much in my mind.

The style is still impossibly brutal for Norwegian death metal and the brutal drumming reminded me of a mix of Immortal as well as Polluted Inheritance and Mercyless who likewise hammer away at riffs in succession alongside hyper kinetic, relentlessly blasted drumming but all find interesting reasons to slow down. Few death metal albums manage the unhinged and primal intensity of Molested's early 90's influences and some of that concurrent black metal-ness influence stylizes 'Blod-Draum' like nothing else.

The only thing that really keeps this from being higher on my list is that it simply isn't as memorable musically as it is stylistically. The points of interest along the way are all the quieter moments of this otherwise constantly riffing blastfest that is remarkably technical underneath it's muddy blackened death brutality. It is a shame that death metal, for whatever reason, went fully out of fashion in Norway around 1992 and bands like this evolved towards black metal. Borknagar's debut one year later in 1996 really bridled the brutal chaos found on 'Blod-Draum' enough to create an equally compelling black metal classic, with both albums masterminded by Øystein Brun. If you're inclined towards the compositions of this record then 'Borknager' will expand the boundaries of that interest with a murkier true black metal sound, though it loses death metal elements entirely.

Albums that continually redeem their listening value over time are few and far between and I generally feel like 'Blod-Draum' is included in that range of quality. My appreciation for the album skates between it's providence and unique atmospherics (smoothed over with remastering, typically, look for the original release) and it's dry-bones brutal drumming. Beyond it's sound and dips into progressive metal the technical and melodic riffing has a style nowhere near similar to most anything else 'death metal' in 1995.

Attribution: http://grizzlybutts.com/2018/02/13/retro-tuesdays-molested-blod-draum-1995/

What an odd little album we have here! Molested is a Norwegian death metal band, and this is their only full-length album, Blod-Draum. In case you wanted to know, Molested was the band that existed prior to Oyestein jumping the shark and moving on to Borknagar (herp derp, more liek DORKnagar!). Anyway, this is an underrated, classic album that at first sounds rather generic, but once you really pay attention to it, it clicks with you, and you’ll understand why it’s so great.

Firstly, this album has a really weird, muddy sound. There’s something about the sounds of the guitars and the drums that seems a bit “off” somehow, yet it’s this exact trait that really gives this album the bleak atmosphere that it thrives on. Everything from the guttural vocals to the eerie guitar leads benefit from this unusual, yet fitting, sound.

To compliment this fitting sound, Blod-Draum is strangely melodic. Between the leads melodies and the killer riffs, the whole package blends together incredibly well to further establish the atmosphere. The thing is, some of these these are sort of odd riffs for death metal. Just listen to the one at 2:27 in ‘Unborn Woods in Doom.’ There’s just something a bit abnormal about it, or maybe even just the presentation of it, that feels unique and borderline disgusting (in a very complimentary way, mind you). Regardless, the riffs here are downright gripping, and the song structures and percussion do a lot to really add emphasis to them and present them in the most effective light. This is most definitely one of my favorite aspects of this album.

Of course, there’s some dorky folksy shit as well (remember: DORKNAGAR!). ‘Following the Growls’ has a really weird part at around 2:45 that sort of reeks of “WTF?” or something similar to that. I kind of wish that this folk stuff wasn’t there, but in some parts of the album, it works. The title track is fucking hysterical just for how well the folk shit fits with the blastbeat. Seriously, don’t dismiss this album until you’ve heard this track, for at least it’ll provide you with lulz. Consider me amused, Molested! This stuff might not even make sense, but it’s in the good way.

Overall, this is a great slab of semi-unique death metal that has some pretty weird parts to it. The individual performances are all solid, and the production does the atmosphere and music some justice. However, FOR THE FUCKING LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT LISTEN TO THE REMASTER OF THIS! I’m dead serious when I say that Dan Swano’s remaster of this is some of the noisiest, shittiest, downright awful things I’ve ever heard in my life. He literally killed any life that this album had, turning it into a slushie of noise dominated by what could be assumed to be cymbals (the compression makes the cymbal sound fuck up the mix like there’s no tomorrow). Ignore that sack of shit and find an original copy, be it physical or digital.

Written for http://thenumberoftheblog.com/

What a fascinating LP.

And I'm amazed at how little this LP has been talked about. I mean, everyone I have ever mentioned it to had never even heard it. I'm assuming most people see it as kind of Pre-Dorknagar and say "no thanks", don't blame them really, nobody wishes to sample HIV before AIDS.

But seriously, is this the same guy?
The way the LP starts, is actually very simple, no fancy intros, just background vocals and intense Death Metal riff work. When the song finally falls into place after 0:30, the riff change is fucking excellent. The song is very modest, don't think this band had anything to prove, at all, just wanted to make some great Music. I like the volume of the vocals too, not too loud at all, the intense Music kind of drowns the vocals out, which when you think about it, is perfect for setting the level of all-around intensity, which means, some great music. Considering how the majority of shitty, shitty modern Death Metal is based around the vocals being too loud and obvious (probably to hide how bad the musicianship is).

Next track, 'Along The Misty Morass', is very majestic from the start, great drumming throughout. I think this whole release is all about the great guitar work, when listened to a few times, where the vocals and drums just compliment it and fit in fucking brilliantly. But when each individual constituent is put together, it fits as one perfectly. Which most bands totally fail at achieving. Very intense.

It's one of those releases that is so tight and the changes are so quick that you have to really concentrate to hear how genius it actually is. And even if you don't concentrate, the outright brutality of it smashes you. You do need to listen to it a lot.

Track 4, 'Following The Growls', now this is where the LP starts to get extra special. I mean, the arrangement of the music so far is impeccable, very tight, very brutal and ultra consistent. But this is where it gets interesting. The intro is, once again, great. The riff changes entwined with the drumming would go unnoticed by the common ear, but it's not escaping me, that's great Metal. The real beauty of this song is after 2½ minutes of ultra intense Death Metal, it drops into a break of instrumental and seemingly traditional early European Folk Music, which is very beautiful. Which then PERFECTLY drops back into a killer fucking riff again. The drop actually sounds like another song it‘s that effective. Very fast, perfect Death Metal. Lasts about 5½ minutes, What a song.

The next song, the self-titled, 'Blod-Draum', is a great, great instrumental track. It's not even Death Metal, though the drumming is reminiscent of a blast beat, with odd speeding up and breaks, but there‘s no Metal here. There is definitely this Aborigine type sound to it, pretty sure it's a didgeridoo being used in the faint background, then briefly, similar to the break in the last track, the same instrument for the folk breakdown is pushed in the background, goes very well. This instrumental lasts a good 3 minutes. Then:

BOOM! Track 6 is 'The Hate From The Miasma Storms', which, is probably one of my favourite Death Metal tracks of all time. Oh my, the way that intro riff and drumming combo drops off the top of that instrumental. Then the way it totally stops and a few taps of the drums and back in again. It's too killer for words. I mean, what a sound this band have created. Sounds like a swarm of killer bees attacking, or something, FUCK! Gonna just leave it at that.

Next song is more sheer brilliance. For example, the first riff, the time changes are so tight and so fast, you hardly notice. Brilliant. Vocals come in and compliment it perfectly.
Nothing gets boring on this LP, nothing at all. Perfect tempo throughout, complete consistency personified, something that lacks so much in so many Death Metal albums.

Last song on this remarkable little LP, 'Forlorn As A Mist Of Grief', has a great acoustic intro, sounds very nice, then is DESTROYED with more intense and fantastic Death Metal 0:40 in. Then the atmosphere and sound created 25 seconds later is fucking intense. Nice tempo change 2 minutes in. 4½ minutes in, and the intro part soon becomes the "outro", but a little more discreet this time, with the drums remaining over the top. And just like that, the song and LP just stops. Truly remarkable.

Overall. Everything on this LP holds that paradox of being seemingly modest, with nothing too fancy or "show off", yet ends up being totally and inexplicably genius Music. Proud to be from the same planet as this release. Buy it.
Fucking GO!!!

Bless the age of mp3s and file sharing. This album, though inexplicably out-of-print, became one of my favorite Scandinavian death metal releases very quickly after I had the fortune to discover it.

…though to tell the truth, in general, I don’t have all that much of a taste for Scandinavian death metal – which usually means Swedish death metal – which usually means bands that sound like Entombed. Though bands in that scene parted with predictable verse/chorus songwriting, experimented with atmospheric additions, and pushed the envelope on shear heaviness, the basic unit of the riff often remained relatively unchanged from the previous generation of metal, even as American bands like Suffocation or Deicide dabbled in schizophrenic guitar styles.

For me, heavy metal or thrash riffing generally just doesn’t do it for conveying an effective sense of darkness – it feels too obvious and direct when it should feel subversive and twisted.

But Molested hit the nail on the head here. This is quite a melodic album, actually… though the connotations that usually follow from that premise do not apply here. Instead of following foot-tapping, syncopated, hummable patterns, the riffs flow independently of ordinary rhythmic references, sounding almost as if they were being played backwards, each one moving freely like a forearm dangling from a broken joint. The presence of two guitars is exploited for maximum atmospheric effect, the left and right channels playing almost but not quite the same thing, an effect best appreciated with headphones. It’s an extremely unique style – even all these years after this album, nobody else seems to have picked up on or copied it – and it sounds as disturbing and wrong as anything else in death metal.

In additional, there are a couple of interludes of what might be called a warped version of folk music; instead of providing relief from the relentless brutality of the rest of the music, they only add to the nocturnal atmosphere, and sound more demented than what most bands are able to come up with employing overdistorted guitars.

Amusingly, the vocalist/guitar player from Molested went on to play in Borknagar of all bands. He should’ve quit while he was ahead. This album is among the best death metal has to offer.