Band: Malsten
Album: The Haunting of Silvåkra Mill
Genre: Doom Metal
Country: Sweden
Release Date: 24th of July, 2020
Released via: Interstellar Smoke Records
Cover Artwork: © Interstellar Smoke Records
The metaphor of the seed, that falls into the earth to give new life is a very old and often cited one. But what about the seed that are harvested? They end up in a large silo just get grinded to flour and being eaten and digested by humans. Pretty bleak and violent outlook, isn’t it? And now project this fate onto a human being.
Malsten from Sweden play Doom / Sludge Metal backed up with a very interesting back story and I’m not talking Astrid Lindgren type of story. The album tells us about the gruely story of a miller who has a thirst for blood.
This album is divided into four tracks which accompany this dark story perfectly. With every track the listener descends deeper and deeper into the twisted mind of the miller until the end which is not a happy one.
What strikes me most about this record is the singing. On a lot Doom-Metal records the lyrics are screamed / growled or whatever you want to call the sounds that can convey lyrical content. But not on this record. Manne Högström (vocals) sings the bloody tale of the miller in an almost beautiful, elegic kind of way.
The Haunting of Silvåkra Mill is a great dark musical trip to this cursed mill. The pounding, slow drums push you forward with every beat, while the heavy guitars grind you down (literally) until the listener and the miller reach the end of their line.
1 Pingback