Review Summary: 2026's first metal breakout
Full video review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehPe_84Q4HI
Dreamcrush is the third album from Danish blackgaze up-and-comers MØL. Their first two albums were well received in metal circles, but this one feels primed to be their breakout. It arrives at a funny moment in the lifespan of blackgaze as a genre. We’re over a decade removed from Deafheaven’s seminal
Sunbather creating a tidal wave of imitators, and this fusion of screaming + dreaminess is no longer new or innovative. MØL clearly know this, and instead of trying to match their peers in heaviness or extremity, they are taking that sonic DNA and re-packaging in a way that’s more "accessible" (relatively speaking).
So the songs on
Dreamcrush are shorter (typically 4-5 mins), more direct, and follow conventional verse–chorus structures. It’s the blackgaze starter pack, a gateway album. The band clearly wears their influences on their sleeves, whether its similar bands blending black metal with dreamy soundscapes (Deafheaven, Alcest, Holy Fawn), alt metal bands using similar tones (Deftones) or the 90s alt rock/shoegaze bands who influences all of them (Cocteau Twins, Ride, My Bloody Valentine). There are several moments where if you told me someone just took a Cocteau Twins song and mixed blastbeats into it, I’d believe you.
At its core,
Dreamcrush is an album of euphoria and catharsis. It wants to make you feel things in your jimmies, and it succeeds more often than not. MØL blend explosive heaviness with warm, blissful guitars, and when it all works, the emotional peaks genuinely hit hard. The songwriting leans into hooks, punchy structures, and clean guitar leads that slice through the fuzz. Tracks like
'Young' showcase that immediately—kicking off with euphoric leads before slamming into chuggy high-tempo riffing and some surprisingly guttural growls sprinkled in. *** slaps.
Across the album, the harsh vocals are consistently strong with a good range —screams, growls, deep gutturals. They’re not the most extreme throat-shredding vocals in black metal, but they’re delivered with conviction and help bring weight to otherwise dreamy moments. The clean vocals, however are...
okay. They’re never awful, but they rarely elevate the tracks either. On songs like
’Hud’,
’Garland’, or
’ Dissonance’, the cleans feel serviceable but lack the personality or confidence of the harsh vocals. The drumming is tight and energetic, especially on heavier cuts like
’Crush’ or
’Mimic’, but feels under-served in the mix. But the guitar solos? Absolutely immaculate throughout. They’re tasteful, emotional, and hit exactly where they should.
’Favour’, for example, erupts into a gorgeous solo that lifts the entire track into its satisfying crescendo
Production-wise, this is where the album’s biggest strengths and weaknesses collide. The mix is super clean, but also super compressed. During dense sections, everything starts to smear together into one big wall of noise that can feel thin instead of massive—a dangerous issue in blackgaze, a style built on layering distortion. There’s not much dynamic breathing room, and when the album wants to go nuclear, it sometimes just sounds like your speakers are being sandblasted. Still, the
intention behind the production is clear—they’re aiming for that thick, ecstatic, blissful wash of guitars. And when the arrangements open up (especially in the softer mid-section of the album), the cleanness helps the dreamy leads shine.
Tracks like
’Hud’,
’Garland’, and
’Favour’ make up the soft, more ethereal middle stretch. This is where the clean guitars shimmer and the shoegaze influence takes over fully. It’s warm and lush – black metal has never been so cozy. Then the back half tightens its fists and kicks the distortion door back open with tracks like
’Mimic’ and
’Crush’. These bring back the edge, the speed, and the cathartic eruption the genre thrives on.
The album can verge on predictable, with every track sticking heavily to the soft/heavy trade-off formula to a tee. These minor complaints do not stop the album from being hugely enjoyable, but do hold it back from being a genre-defining classic.
So to wrap up:
Dreamcrush is a euphoric, cathartic, modern blackgaze record that leans more accessible than its peers without losing the emotional punch. It’s both dreamy yet heavy, cozy yet crushing, familiar yet contemporary. Even if this formula is starting to feel worn in places, MØL inject enough passion, melody, and hook-focused songwriting to keep things compelling. It’s a great entry point for people curious about "blackgaze" but intimidated by the more extreme bands in the genre. And for those who already enjoy this sound, you’ll find a really strong album with plenty of emotional peaks and some genuinely beautiful moments.
