We are supposed to judge every album separately, avoiding any comparison with other works of the same artist, let aside the works of others. But, it is really hard not to think about The Devil’s Blood, although it’s been already seven years since their break-up in 2013. In Molasses we find four members from them and this is enough to bring back memories from the band that left their mark on the genre of occult rock back then. We still miss Selim Lemouchi (R.I.P.) but the distinctive vocals of Fardia Lemouchi run throughout “Through The Hollow”.
In their debut album they actually try to be diverse; their 70s occult heavy rock (yes, Coven come in mind first) is layered with an intense progressive rock approach, with mainly long compositions avoiding for example the easy path of a straight forward single. The latter, brings some kind of risk to sound a bit boring to the listener, although some shorter tracks give room to breathe, while some psychedelic additions here and there (check the opening track) are welcome. I would like to hear more guitar solos, but the final result is more than acceptable for me (why we need to get excited with everything?) with its vintage aesthetics, the organic production and the impressive keyboard work standing out.
We don’t see and big surprise in the lyric theme of the album as the darkness, devil and metaphysical concerns set the tone and at the end everything seems to fit in with the overall atmosphere of their mainly dark melodies. Yes, the dutch band doesn’t impress much, but they offer a sufficiently melancholic work that fans will enjoy.