releasedate: february 27th 2023
Von Mollestein is a heavy force to reckon with in the Netherlands. They describe themselves as ‘Aggrotech meets black metal’. Dark, black, harsh, with the necessary industrial vibes. And not only their music is dark. Von Mollestein has a dark horror themed stage presence that translates live as well as it does in their weird, deliberately low key crazy, youtube video’s. They’ve created an image and they’re sticking with it quiet well. And whether you like it or not, Von Mollestein will trample over you no matter what.
Von Mollesteins “The Order of the Fist” is 35 minutes of angry music. They’ve previously released a few of the tracks on the album through youtube so we kinda knew what we were getting into. There aren’t many bands in the dark industrial realm that Von Mollestein resides in. They cross borders with black metal and aggrotech (or EBM, for those who, like me, don’t know what aggrotech is). Heavy guitars, blastbeats, symphonic synth lines, strings and eerie vibes and electronic beats all work together to form a harsh and aggressive sound.
About the tracks
It isn’t that heavy on all tracks though, even though the horror seeps through all tracks. The opening track My Friend Ricky feels like a kick in the face, but other tracks are a little easier to listen to. There is a nice balance of more metally tracks and tracks that are more in the aggrotech realm. For Dark Glory, even though it has some synth lines, is more on the black metal spectrum while for instance Jacky Boy is more in the industrial spectrum. Von Mollestein released a clip for this track on youtube as well. Zwartnacht is also one of the tracks the band previously released a clip for on youtube. This track is again more on the black metal side, but blends the aggrotech vibes quiet well. It sounds like this track is in Dutch, but the vocals are so distorted I really can’t make out what the lyrics are. Luckily the lyrics are posted with their youtube video for those who want to shout along.
More metal is to come. We suck you in is basically straight up thrash, and has almost a punk vibe to it, albeit with the Von Mollestein vibe. Blood on the Dancefloor starts off with some weird noises and a techno beat. It’s a really weird song, with weird electronic drums samples. Not really my kind of music but I guess it fits the band. Midnight Meateater starts with the electronic drums again and some synth lines that seem to draw inspiration from the retro new wave trend that has been going on. I think it’s one of the more danceable song on the album, and even with the aggressive parts, the most poppy song. Voodoo Death (“the curse is upon you”) starts off almost as a heavy metal track with the bass and guitar lines. It feels though that the basslines are dragging a bit and that makes it feel less tight that the other tracks on the album. It does’nt really work for me and it’s the only track that stands out to me in a bad way.
With hate I’m in love starts of with some techno weirdness again. It’s one of the slower tracks on the album, and not far off the weirdness we described in our STURP review. Halfway through the song some melodic synthline enter the stage and that changes the whole song (for the better). To Err is Divine is te final song on the album. It starts with a heavy pouding techno drumbeat and builds up toward a black metal track and makes a nice ending to a weird and heavy album.
Final Thoughts
Von Mollestein is an interesting mix of heavy genres. On some tracks it blends really well. I can clearly see where they’re heading with these tracks, but it might be mixing and mastering or just songwriting, the blending of the two genres could be done a little better in some parts, to make the songs flow a little better. The aggressive techno drum beats don’t always mix well with the black metal guitar riffs. Also the balance between instruments could in some tracks be improved, for instance in in Voodoo Death.
All in all it’s an interesting album to check out, especially if you’re into horror, industrial and black metal.
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