I’m never quite sure what to make of Molybaron. Hailing from Paris, they are a genuinely unique prospect in the world of alternative metal. Veering from the crushing guitar grooves more commonly associated with djent to progressive passages with nods to Dream Theater, they do not carve an easy path to follow and require a certain degree of patience from those wishing to unlock their myriad charms. As you might expect from a band offering so eclectic a mix, not every track will be for everyone, but they stand as one of the more interesting bands to emerge in recent years and on this, their third album, they delight in avoiding easy categorisation as they draw the listener through a range of labyrinthine structures, with soaring vocals and melodic hooks dropping markers as they go so you can easily find your way back at the album’s conclusion.
It starts, appropriately enough, with the deep bass and rippling guitar figure of Something Ominous, a slippery progressive number that sounds like Dream Theater doing battle with System Of A Down (with added influence from Stephen Sondheim). It’s a very strange opening track, metallic but offset with an atypical vocal approach, and prone to digressions down string-filled back alleys. Upping the ante with a piece that leans even harder into those bizarre musical influences, Set Alight is likely to be divisive with its soaring vocal, although you’ll find the melody proves rather more insistent than you initially realise. The band return to more metallic pastures with the next track. Built around a tough, elastic groove, Billion Dollar Shakedown turns the album on its head, coming off as a latter-day System Of A Down track, complete with bug-eyed vocal and stabbing riffs. Then there’s Breakdown, a track that takes piano and churning bass as its starting point, before heading into a weird hinterland inhabited by Muse and Devin Townsend. By this point, you’ll either be hooked on the band’s organic fluidity, or running for the hills in search of something a little more bludgeoning, for Molybaron inspire a range of emotional states, but ambivalence is surely not one of them. Marginally more straightforward is Anyway – although the soaring vocals remain – and the band seem to enjoy rocking a heavy-duty riff as Camille Greneron tears into the drums.
Offering a calmer moment, Daylight Dies In Darkness leaves the bombast behind for a slow-burning ballad in the vein of Blind Guardian before the riffs return for the schizophrenic Dead On Arrival. A multi-tiered piece that travels through a range of rhythms and attitudes, with singer Gary Kelly delivering one of his most varied vocal performances along the way, it’s an album highlight, showcasing the band at their genre-hopping best. It’s followed by Pendulum, which nods to System’s slower-paced Ariels, with a touch of Tool thrown in for good measure. The bouncy Reality Show emerges from a bank of synths, to become a brilliantly melodic blast of fast-paced alt rock before Vampires closes this most diverse album. A throbbing, dynamic finale with gothic undertones and a delirious sense of the dramatic, it’s a fitting end to the album, and even manages to reference the bombast of Meat Loaf on its wild-eyed chorus.
Not only unique, but with enough melodic nous to hook in the unwary despite their challenging arrangements, Molybaron are rather special. As likely to alienate as many as they attract with their wilful playfulness, the album may flow, but one track rarely sounds like another, and the band clearly delight in toying with the audience at every opportunity. The result is an album that tempers its bombast with remarkably addictive hooks, and it’s an engaging experience for those willing to accept the challenge. Not for everyone, then, but for those who enjoy unpredictable music with a flair for the dramatic, then Something Ominous should be on your list. 8.5/10
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