Conceptually, Muladona was captivating to the point where I couldn’t stop listening to it, which equals high dopamine response. It was a lot like living through a cult horror in a deeply personal and visceral way. I love the concept of the narrator’s innocence and the blasphemy they must undertake to tell the tale and to warn of the mysterious Muladona. The spoken word didn’t sound cheesy, like a lot of spoken word does in metal, but instead, it seemed to add to the atmosphere: that of being told a ghost story based on true events by someone who had been there. It also added a much enjoyed context to the musical content of the album. The track titles were very specific and weaved a tale of overwhelming dread.

The ratio of sludge to weirdo black metal was on point and there weren’t any parts that felt like filler or that they were out of place. This led to the sense of urgency and crisis that I adore in extreme metal, as the riffing felt very intentionally woven. The music was the way it was to bring the story a sort of cinematic effect. That is to say, drama not for the sake of drama, but drama for the sake of “oh shit, something’s terribly wrong here.” The music flowed with the story as opposed to the story being centered around the music. Leave it to the Swiss to make something so intentionally, artfully crafted.

The production was fucking sexy as shit. There was this really nice clarity and separation of the instruments that left an immersive feeling when all put together. The loud transients, or what you might consider metal orchestra hits, were menacingly dialed in. It felt like on those big hits I was just getting struck momentarily by these gorgeous wall-of-sound instances. This is a producer who knows what the fuck is up. Nothing felt unintentional, even though I’m sure some things were.

Great concept, great writing, amazing delivery, stellar intentionality in almost everything I heard, dope-ass concept that transported me to another world for a minute, sexy-ass production that rivals even some of the best produced shit I know. In the experience of this album, I was blown away and it helped me process some complex emotions I didn’t even know I was dealing with today. Sweet, sweet catharsis.

10/10

About the Author’s Biases:
Sage is a prolific music producer that relishes hard work in the music they hear. Keep it up, nerds!