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Monolord – Empress Rising

Jun 20 • International News, Reviews, The Slumbering Ent • 3677 Views • No Comments on Monolord – Empress Rising

Jayaprakash Satyamurthy reviews the debut album from Monolord titled Empress Rising, released via Easyrider Records.

Artwork by Nik Dudukovic.More of his work here.

Doom metal as a genre is enjoying something of a heyday; so much so that long term fans are starting feel that it may be turning into a bandwagon, getting too big to retain its integrity. This may be partly true, especially around the occult rock end of things and the intersection with stoner rock. Still, as long as there are solid debut albums being released by new doom acts, I’d say the genre still has legs. Monolord’s ‘Empress Rising’, then, is not just a brilliantly well realized first album, it’s also a sign that the present wave of doom metal is far from played out.

Heaviness isn’t only about speed, and intensity can be about atmosphere as much as it can be about sheer virtuosity. It’s clear where Monolord’s focus lies: on building a massive, trance-inducing doom groove that reminds me as much of Sleep and Electric Wizard as it does of the kraut leanings of bands like Pharaoh Overlord and Ufomammut. The dual doom/psych elements are immediately evident with the title track, which starts with a plodding yet hooky riff played out in a watery, flanging tone. After repeating this figure to the point of trance-induction, the distortion kicks in and the same motif becomes the pivot for an onslaught of massive heaviness – all at the restrained, purposeful tempi of traditional doom metal. The vocals, veiled in echo and reverb and essentially catchy, add to the spacey yet pounding feel.

‘Audhumbla’ similarly takes a simple, yet hypnotic riff and slowly puts it through its paces, spinning out variations and extrapolations in a manner that shows the band’s kraut influences. Incursions of noise and a crunchy bass tone anchor the superheavy, mid paced riffing and extraterrestrial vocal. ‘Harbinger of Death’ is exactly as menacing and anthemic as you’d want a song with that title to be, and the two remaining songs, ‘Icon’ and ‘Watchers of the Waste’ are poured out from the same mould, and just as good.

This is a compact album: 5 songs and about 45 minutes of music. The energy levels, intensity and musical quality are remarkably consistent throughout; at the end of it all, you’re liable to feel just a little awed at the sheer cohesiveness and power of this band. In ‘Empress Rising’ Monolord have delivered a brooding, inviting album, something that creates an atmosphere of its own, something which generates an intense gravity field that you’ll be completely enveloped in. And the sound is fresh and interesting while still being recognizably grounded in the evolution of the doom genre. This is one of the essential doom releases of 2014 and a clear sign that the genre itself is still immune to its own namesake.