By:
Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full-length
Date Released: 27/09/2017
Label: Riding Easy Records
Monolord
hits all the superlative notes when it comes to doom and the album's closing
tracks, "Forgotten Lands" and "At Niceae," are as close to
perfect as you can get.
"Rust" CD//DD//LP track listing
1.
Where Death Meets The Sea
2.
Dear Lucifer
3.
Rust
4.
Wormland
5.
Forgotten Lands
6.
At Niceae
The Review:
Doom
and sludge metal both have a handful of performers who can create a truly
melodic listening experience. Not a melodic, pop-music-style sort of atmosphere
ala Ghost, but rather sounds that are faithful
to the subgenres while injecting the kind of talent that reminds you there is
so much more to doom mastery than dropping the sixth string down to decent B
flat.
Hailing
from Gothenburg, Swedish doom metal group Monolord formed in
2013, and its members have set a frankly frenetic schedule, dropping three full
lengths and an EP, including the 2014 debut, "Empress Rising." That amount of output is quite unusual,
let alone delivering content that has been as well received as Monolord has since it began. The big question is, can the
team's newest, "Rust," develop
the music while giving its base what it loves?
Monolord hits all the superlative notes when it comes to doom, though the group knows how to
plant a strong post as far as different music too. On the opener "Where Death Meets The Sea"
the trio strikes a brisker pace than one might expect from a sludgy bassline.
Regardless, the track is incredibly satisfying – it's tight, the vocals are
exceptional, with a touch of wash-out though audible and story-based, and the
mood is thick with dread. The track progression is also superior, as it is
followed by "Dear Lucifer,"
which flows well out of the opener's assiduous pace, matching it until it
evolves into an ultra heavy entry befitting the vocal. On the strength of this
pairing, Monolord will get a dozen positive
comparisons. Likely the best you can say is that more acts are going to be
compared to this band before too long.
Monolord's chemistry is palatable. Singer
Thomas Jäger deserves a lot of praise for his work. Drummer Esben Willems and
Mika Häkki on bass ratchet up the tension throughout "Rust" as well. There are also some creative additions –
the strings in "Wormland"
or the title track's organ and effects – that are brilliant touches.
In
addition, what makes the new release so satisfying is how well Monolord grasp sterling arrangement. That sounds rather
technical, but frankly you know an atrocious song by how weakly it is
structured. This album's closing tracks, "Forgotten
Lands" and "At
Niceae," is as close to perfect as you can get. At 15 minutes plus, it
is a cut with quite a build. However, the instrumentation by Monolord, the song's pacing and lyrics are presented in a
way that keeps you listening, over and over.
"Rust"
available to preorder/buy here
