III

The second MOSKAU album (entitled "III") is made of 4 untitled tracks and is more experimental than post-metal (thing that I don't dislike). Let's specify that MOSKAU is just one of the many side-projects of the very eclectic multi-instrumentist Christian Kolf.

the first track is powerful but with a slow tempo. A distorted guitar chord accompanies the first two minutes of the track making it sound noisy, similar to what Senmuth does on his most industrial oriented albums. However, the overall sensation is of a quite avant piece. More "melodic" and structured than some pure RIO/avant bands, it sounds to me like a more approachable kind of Kayo Dot. Very enjoyable if you like the genre. I get my listening pleasure from catching the structure and the melodies which are hidden behind the noise. As usual the atmosphere is quite dark, like some horror-based flash-based pc-games. Probably an ideal soundtrack. The last two minutes based on keyboards and slow drums are remarkable as it's totally different from the rest of the track, but the transition is so smooth that I can't say when it really begins.

Track 2 is similar in the signature, or better, is almost identical to the first part of the first track, but there is a clear sequence of chords which with a different arrangements could have been I don't say "radio-friendly", but surely not challenging. The characteristic of this track is to be totally guitar-driven even if the first "solo" comes after 3:30 minutes, before that it's just chords. More Maudlin Of The Well than Kayo Dot. The central part of the track is almost melodic and not very dark, specially when the second guitar solo arrives following a sequence of major chords. Some passages sound more discordant and again my mind goes to Senmuth. Also on this track the last minute is different from all the rest, with an acoustic harping and what seems to be a reverse playback of a recorded guitar.

Track 3 appears even more melodic. It's opened by a series of legatos with the drums reminding to Post Rock bands like "From Monument to Masses", but after 1:30 minutes the first metal of the album comes, at least in the heavy sounds used, specially the guitar. It's just one minute, then it's dark ambient. When the track becomes more rhythmic and darker I think it's what you have to expect when going for "Experimental/Post Metal".

Track 4 is the shortest one. It starts very noisy and Avant and is the most challenging even being the only one with lyrics. It's a pity that Christian's vocal capabilities are hidden behind the noise. He demonstrates to be capable of a big vocal extension. His bass notes sound darker than a growl but the vocals are in the background, like the production choice of Dan Britton for his "All Over Everywhere" project. A five minutes song with a melodic closure...well, probably I'm becoming too used to avant so that this appears to me as melodic...

It's a short album, just a bit more than half a hour freely downloadable from Christian Kolf's website, and I think it deserves to be downloaded. Three very solid stars