People are easy targets when it comes to the darkness we force on other people. We’re not always the most honorable beings inhabiting this earth, and that fact long has poisoned politics and religion and, as a result, the population in general. It’s a sickness we never seem to be able to overcome, and we’re largely to blame.

Prog metal force Moths are fully aware of this, and on their new record “Septem,” they use their prowess and impressive range of sounds to look at something that’s long plagued humans. This seven-track album is based on the seven deadly sins, with each track taking the name of one of them, and it’s a whirlwind of an experience. The band—vocalist Mariel Viruet, guitarists Jonathan Miranda and Omar González, bassist Weslie Negrón, drummer Daniel Figueroa—could fit in regions outside of metal, and they aren’t here for brutality front to back and are flush with melody. But the barbs are there, and if you’re not paying attention, they’ll snag you. Like these dreaded sins. 

“Sloth” is the opening instrumental, acoustic and folkish, the guitars taking on a bluesy swagger, washing through to “Envy” where things get a little grittier. Drums slink as Viruet’s smoky singing sets the pace, the playing picking up and heading into progressive waters, the guitars feeling properly spacey. The pace numbs before penetrating beneath the surface, the vocals commanding, and everything coming to a raucous end. “Greed” opens with growls snarling and the pace mashing, the singing returning to make blood flow harder, bruising heat doing its damage. Fuzzy, burly melodies thicken as the howls wrench, the cosmic void deepens, and the final moments make nerve endings tingle.

“Pride” has synth waves swimming, screams pushing into madness, and the richness getting thicker and more reflective. The band swings back to prog fire again, feeling like they’re channeling Rush in the early 1980s, the keys blasting and all elements building to a huge crescendo. “Lust” has the bass chugging and keys whirring, howls showing steely resolve as the drumming bustles. The singing soars as the guitars snake though pools of silver, disappearing into glimmering keys. “Gluttony” starts with tricky guitars and growls scraping flesh, the singing settling in and growing more intense, harsh growls exploding from the corners. The guitars race and trample as speed becomes a factor as they dash by colonies of stars. Closer “Wrath” brings menacing wails, darkness that grows into your cells, and sweltering melodies that increase the temperature. Things get dirtier and faster, Viruet’s singing bellowing, the pressure building, rampaging as the drums smash through the final gates.

Moths not only continue to expand their sound on “Septem,” but they also dig deeper into humanity’s darkest inhibitions and behaviors that are a part of all of us. This is a hard band to categorize, as they fit into so many different areas but never completely. That likely means they can’t be pigeonholed somewhere, and it might be hard for them to find a natural place to exist, but it also means their possibilities are limitless. Their next record could sound like anything, and that’s pretty exciting.

For more on the band, go here: https://mothspr.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://mothspr.bandcamp.com/album/septem