Rorcal – Muladona (Review)

Rorcal are a Swiss blackened post-metal band and this is their fifth album.

Rorcal are an ever-shifting beast, producing a wealth of material over their career spanning doom, drone, post-metal, and black metal. After the furious blackened assault of κρέων (Creon), Muladona is a different proposition.

This is a concept album based on a novel, and delivered via the medium of drone and noise-tinged blackened doom. Across the album’s 38 minutes the music and story unfold in highly compelling ways. Muladona provides crushing intensity, both musically and emotionally; Rorcal have worked closely with the novelist for this album, (Eric Stener Carlson – he even delivers spoken word), and the results speak for themselves.

Crafting an immersive world of terrifying darkness and captivating horror, the music moves from bleak drone and doom to violent blackened mayhem, and covers a variety of points in between. This is very much the type of album that you can listen to in the dark with your headphones on, completely absorbed, soaking up every aspect of the music as you get fully transported into the world and story of Muladona. It’s quite the experience.

Muladona is a collaborative piece of art that offers a rare synthesis of music and literature. Highly intelligent, yet also visceral and emotive, this is a superlative work.

Essential listening.