One Listen Review
1st Listen 28 Aug 24
Reviewed 29 Aug 24
Moose Cult – Book of the Machines
Eat Lead and Die Music
Released 6 Sept 24
The 2nd album by splendidly named Anglo/American outfit Moose Cult is called Book of the Machines, named after a section of the 1872 novel Erewhon by Samuel Butler. The album as a whole is inspired by this book, so we are hit with a lot of literal themes across the 7 songs on offer.
The album opens slowly and deliberately before the track fully expands into itself. Vocally, Jonny Moose has a hint of Ihsahn about him in what is a pretty decent opener. Riff wise, there is nothing really outstanding here, it is a good solid intro to the album.
Unfortunately, the album is not a massive attention grabber. There are almost avant-garde moments in some of the tracks, and often Moose Cult don’t seem to have a clear direction. When you hear that many of the riffs were collated throughout the Covid pandemic, it maybe makes sense why the album doesn’t seem to flow. That said, some of the riffs are great, especially in ‘Earth(l)ing’.
Another irk I have with the album is the drum sound. The snare….. it isn’t St Anger sounding, but it can sometimes sound a bit tinny and it frustrated me during the one listen the album has had.
With a running time of just under 38
minutes, Book of the Machines does not last long, but when it finished, I wasn’t disappointed that I couldn’t listen to it again after I had written my review. It did not immediately grab my attention and that makes for a disappointing listen.
Perhaps, multiple listens will let the album grow on me, so in that regard, I will check it out again sometime.
The DevilsHorns 
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