Swedish sludge metal quartet Moloken announces new self-titled album and shares first single

Swedish four-piece Moloken have spent nearly two decades forging a sound where doom, death, sludge, black and post-metal converge into something singular and immersive. The result is a unique blend of dark, moody and menacing music that manages to be both cerebral and crushingly heavy.

Today, Moloken announces their self-titled fifth album for a September 25th release via Discouraged Records. The album marks a powerful return after six years of silence – a dark, introspective journey through themes of consciousness, death, and eternity – and with the album announcement, the first single and video ‘A Night Vision Revealed (Asterion Pt. I)’ is released.

As an entry point to the album, ‘A Night Vision Revealed (Asterion Pt. I)’ sets the tone for what lies ahead: a deeper exploration of contrast, where light and darkness coexist, and where Moloken’s evolving identity takes shape in its most human form yet. The song offers a glimpse into a new dimension of Moloken’s sound. Marking the band’s first use of clean vocals, the track reveals a more exposed and vulnerable side without sacrificing the weight and intensity that defines them.

‘A Night Vision Revealed (Asterion Pt. I)’ is a retelling of a classic story about the Minotaur of Crete, hiding in his labyrinthine palace. On surface level it is a story regarding profound loneliness, the loss of innocence and holding out hope for some kind of redemption but it is also a personal reflection on feeling stuck, the loss of self, life’s dreariness and routine finally coming to a head.

Filmed in a single unbroken take in Holmsund, outside Umeå, the video captures the night sky in real time — a conceptual “slow video” where drifting clouds and the subtle movements of nature become the only visual counterpart to the music’s unfolding atmosphere.

Moloken will play two May shows in Sweden and Norway, with more shows to be announced in the months to come.

MOLOKEN Live 2026:
09.05.26 – Umeå, Stallet (SE)
15.05.26 – Vadsø, Valo Rock Festival (NO)

Doom, death, black, sludge or post – few metal subgenres escape Moloken‘s gravitational pull. Since forming in 2007, the four-piece from Umeå, Sweden has consistently pushed the boundaries of their sound, carving out new musical terrain with each release.

Moloken’s music moves like a shifting legend. For nearly two decades it has passed from listener to listener, changing shape along the way and leaving behind a lingering aura of mystique. Pinning the band down to a single genre is nearly impossible – but their uncompromising weight and precision as a live act are undeniable. At its core, Moloken is an experience: something to be felt rather than explained, reaching its full force on stage.

After six years of silence, the album marks a powerful return. Moloken reconnects with a more primal, doom-laden foundation while expanding their sonic palette: clean vocals, acoustic passages, and subtle traces of Nordic folk music are woven into the whole. Since ‘Unveillance of Dark Matter’ (2020), the band has undergone significant changes shaped by loss, hardship, and transformation – all of which resonate throughout the new material.

The band’s fifth album revolves around the burden of consciousness, death, and eternity. It unfolds as a journey through a Nordic mythscape, drawing the listener deep into a dense forest. Lush melancholy intertwines with a creeping unease; what first feels inviting gradually becomes disorienting. When the illusion breaks, you find yourself alone in the dark, surrounded by your own thoughts – with only a faint light somewhere beyond the fear.