Danish outfit MØL emerged in the late 2010s as one of the more distinctive voices to come out of the blackgaze and post-black metal sphere. From their 2018 debut Jord through to 2021’s Diorama, the band built a reputation for combining traditional black metal intensity with unusually strong melody, expansive guitar work, and a sense of songwriting that owed as much to alternative and post-rock as it did to anything overtly ‘cvlt’. Where many of their peers leaned into atmosphere at the expense of bite, MØL managed to balance both, earning respect from genre purists while still appealing to listeners outside the extreme metal bubble.
That background makes Dreamcrush an interesting release. Arriving after a long five-year gap, it is the band’s most reflective record to date. Rather than attempting to simply escalate what Diorama already did so well, MØL take a broader view of their sound. The album is framed as an emotional and psychological map, dealing with themes of loss, expectation, grief, and the uneasy relationship between dreams and reality. There is still darkness here, but it is offset by moments of calm, acceptance, and even hope. The result is an album that feels less confrontational, but more rounded.
Credits: Press Release
From the opening ‘DREAM’ to the closing ‘CRUSH’, the record plays with contrast. Familiar shimmering guitar tones and blackened textures are present, but they are given more room to breathe. Kim Song Sternkopf’s vocal performance is a major part of this shift. While his trademark shrill screams and growls remain, he now leans far more heavily into clean vocals, sharing the melodic burden with the guitars rather than simply cutting across them. This change alone makes Dreamcrush feel more dynamic than previous releases.
Musically, the album moves fluidly between styles without ever fully committing to one. There are passages of depressive black metal, stretches of shoegaze haze, and moments that nod towards post-rock, post-punk, and even alternative rock. ‘Favour’ stands out for its patient build and uplifting guitar work, while ‘A Former Blueprint’ channels tension into one of the album’s most forceful climaxes. ‘Young’ tackles mortality head-on, pairing darker riffing with expanded vocal range, and ‘Dissonance’ shifts from delicate restraint into a more direct, blackened rock drive. An instrumental interlude, ‘∞’, helps reset the mood before the record’s final stretch.
There are minor drawbacks. Some song structures feel a little predictable, often alternating between clean-sung sections and heavier choruses, and a few tracks end more softly than expected. The album’s calmer midsection may also divide listeners who favour MØL’s harsher side. Still, none of this significantly undermines the overall experience.
Dreamcrush doesn’t present anything radically new, but it doesn’t need to. It’s a steady, confident release that shows a band comfortable enough to experiment with restraint and subtlety. MØL may have softened some of their edges, but the songwriting remains strong, the atmosphere immersive, and the emotional pull undeniable. It’s a thoughtful addition to their catalogue and a record that grows more rewarding with time.
Releasedate: 30-01-2026 | Label: Nuclear Blast | Instagram
Tracklist:
01. DREAM
02. Små Forlis
03. Young
04. Hud
05. Garland
06. Favour
07. A Former Blueprint
08. ∞
09. Dissonance
10. Mimic
11. CRUSH
