ALBUM REVIEW: Uniform & The Body, "Mental Wounds Not Healing"

By: Dominic Walsh

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 08/06/2018

Label: Sacred Bones Records

Mental Wounds Not Healing” is a phenomenally heavy 27 minutes of music. Throughout the seven tracks, there are some extremely harsh vocals, mountainous droning guitar riffs and glitchy distorted beats.  This record is well worth your time if you like having your boundaries of music tested.

“Mental Wounds Not Healing” DD//LP track listing:

1). Dead River

2). The Curse of Eternal Life

3). Come and See

4). The Boy With Death in His Eyes

5). In My Skin

6). We Have Always Lived in the Castle

7). Empty Comforts

The Review:

With a title taken from an Ozzy Osbourne lyric (“Crazy Train”), Uniform and The Body have joined forces for a collaboration that pushes both bands far beyond their roots in industrial music and metal - creating an immersive listening experience that truly transcends genre. 

“Mental Wounds Not Healing”is a phenomenally heavy 27 minutes of music. Throughout the seven tracks, there are some extremely harsh vocals, mountainous droning guitar riffs and glitchy distorted beats. Think NIN, Einstürzende Neubauten, Sunn 0))) and bits of Ministry mixed together with Pharmakon and Blanck Mass. It’s a complete maelstrom of industrial noise throughout.

Most of the song titles are culled from horror literature and cinema. “The Boy With Death In His eyes” is a particular highlight at the midpoint of the album. The beat is more orthodox, and the distorted synthesizers and guitars that accompany the beat create a dark, tension filled backdrop to the despairing vocals.

“In My Skin”contains a particularly unnerving screaming sound throughout the entire track, but the track also contains one of the most notable guitar melodies that spins its web around more twisted and distorted noise. As you disappear down the hole of this track, the ending of the track feels almost serene against many other parts of the song, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is full of lush melodies! “Dead River” also has the same screaming motif that runs throughout the track. It takes you wonderfully out of your comfort zone.

“We Have Always Lived in a Castle” is pure drone. “Empty Comforts” and “The Curse of Eternal Life” are the most NIN style moments on the album as the electronic beats are clear and punchy, but the former really lacks any kind of recognisable rhythm; like a heartbeat with no real idea of what it is doing. The guitars again convene towards the end of “Empty Comforts” to show that this collaboration is not simply about making a glorious racket; there is melody rooted deep within this album – you just have to have the endurance to stick around to find it. “Mental Wounds Not Healing” is well worth your time if you like having your boundaries of music tested.

“Mental Wounds Not Healing” is available here

Band info: facebook|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Bong, "Thought and Existence"

By: John Reppion

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 02/05/2018

Label: Ritual Productions

This is IMAX for the ears - rolling sound-waves as far as the third-eye can see - never boring, never repetitive, an ever evolving  journey through a riffed rift in time and space

“"Thought and Existence" CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). The Golden Fields

2). "Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius"

The Review:

"Thought and Existence" is something like the forty-fourth release from Newcastle's Bong and is officially their eighth full length studio record, which isn't bad going for a band that's been around for thirteen years. Trippy, heavy, hypnotic, psychedelic, euphoric, spacey, massive, awe inspiring, mythic... all good words which could be, and have been, used to describe Bong’s previous output (most recently 2015's epic "We Are, We Were, and We Will Have Been"), and all of which work equally well for this latest offering. I will probably use most of them again below.

"Thought and Existence" is thirty-six and a half minutes long and consists of two tracks: 

"The Golden Fields"opens with spacey gong-bath ambience and one of vocalist/bassist Dave Terry's spoken, sermon-like, poetic intros. Mike Vest's guitar drones swell, and swell, and swell and then Mike Smith's massive drums kick in. This is IMAX for the ears - rolling sound-waves as far as the third-eye can see - never boring, never repetitive, an ever evolving  journey through a riffed rift in time and space.  Smith's drums on "Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius" let us know that this is more of an overtly psych chapter; a second, more mesmerised, movement. Changes are subtle and unhurried, yet deeply effecting. Looping layers of drone which gradually grow in size and potency until your brain and body are vibrating at exactly the same fizzy-boned frequency. 

Bong are a band who can make a cover of Pink Floyd's "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" last half an hour and still be something that is an absolute pleasure to hear. 

"Thought and Existence" is a journey through sound, a genuine trip into and through the other-world the band conjures so expertly and effortlessly. Caution: Do Not Operate Heavy Machinery While Listening to Bong. Listening to "Thought and Existence" May Cause Out of Body Experience. Keep Out of Reach of Children.

“Thought and Existence”is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Beneath Oblivion, "The Wayward and the Lost"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/03/2018

Label: Weird Truth Productions

“The Wayward and the Lost” may be the first album to induce lethal sepsis, especially for those unprepared for the sheer annihilating depths of the quartet’s funereal, occasionally sublime, brand of sludgy doom.  For those who revel in plumbing the nightmarish depths, this nihilistic plunge is just the trip you need.

“The Wayward and the Lost” CD//DD track listing

1. The City, A Mausoleum (My Tomb)

2. Liar’s Cross

3. The Wayward and the Lost

4. Savior-Nemesis-Redeemer

5. Satyr

The Review:

               

There was a period in my late teens where I’d throw in my DVD of “Requiem for a Dream”every week.  Already cripplingly depressed, there was something cathartic to what, until that point, was maybe the most soul-crushing movie I could find (I hadn’t yet discovered Michael Haneke, Lars Von Trier, or any other miserable Euro-directors).  While I wish I was cool enough to have been spinning truly nihilistic funeral doom, sludge, and black metal, I was probably listening to early naughts emo or Nine Inch Nails or, if I was feeling political, some CRASS.  But maybe it’s for the best I didn’t have a band like Beneath Oblivion to pull up after a late night viewing of Jared Leto’s necrotic arm amputation – my vital organs may have shut down out of sheer despair.  Through a blend of post-rock cinematic composition and death doom tone, Beneath Oblivion’s “The Wayward and the Lost” is a painfully addictive listen for anyone craving a nihilistic trudge through societal misery.

               

From the outset, Beneath Oblivionwears their Godspeed You! Black Emperor inspiration on their sleeves.  The opening samples, haunting evocations of modern industrial alienation, nearly overwhelm the clean, twangy guitar chords and sparse percussion.  But when the distorted assault kicks in, beauty is quickly annihilated – lead vocalist Simpson’s wailing, spectral vocals.  While the sound may be post-apocalyptic, the lyrical content is all too painfully situated in the present crises of civilization: “I never believed, / In man or saviors. / This world in decline, / The needle, the wasted.”  Throughout the vacillations between reverb-laden clean guitar breaks and fuzzy, gut churning chords, the throbbing hum of Keith Messerle’s bass lines and trudging smash of Nate Bidwell’s drumwork sound like the spastic heartbeat of a dying leviathan.

               

Occasionally, I wish I could get a little more clarity when hearing the sinister, crackling sample work Allen Scott weaves through “The Wayward and the Lost”.  The inflections sound just right, but I’m wondering if I’m missing out on some of the more interesting spots in “Liar’s Cross” or the monologue at the heart of the death doom title track.  Which isn’t to say Beneath Oblivion buries everything in distortion.  The folky guitar tones, subtle organ lines, and hypnotic background vocals of “Liar’s Cross” are all brilliant counterpoints to the crackling malevolence at the heart of the song.

               

The closing track, “Satyr”, is a propulsive, cinematic opus on a record stacked with epic, expansive compositions.  Layered with samples, countered guitar and bass harmonies, crackling static, and the typically massive drum tone, the cumulative effect is nearly orchestral.  But this isn’t some triumphant lift out of darkness.  Simpson instead spits out a hate-filled eulogy for a damned race: our own.  “We, the futile, / Hand of man's failures, / We, the worthless / Forgotten, the void / Of light, Of suffering.”  These are lacerating condemnations that could give you tetanus.  As a final kiss-off, he advises “Hold on- To your guns / To your drugs / The end is near.”  With a final, painful sample of chugging exhaust and ambient industrial noise, there’s little doubt that Beneath Oblivion’sprophecy feels all but carved in stone.  “The Wayward and the Lost” may be the first album to induce lethal sepsis, especially for those unprepared for the sheer annihilating depths of the quartet’s funereal, occasionally sublime, brand of sludgy doom.  For those who revel in plumbing the nightmarish depths, this nihilistic plunge is just the trip you need.

“The Wayward and the Lost” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Pissboiler - "In The Lair Of Lucid Nightmares"

By: Chris Bull

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 25/12/2017

Label: Third I Rex

Sweden's Pissboiler have crafted a brilliant album of terrifying proportions, creating a sense of tension and foreboding and pummelling the listener with sledgehammer riffs.

“In The Lair Of Lucid Nightmares” CD//DD track listing:

1. Ruins of the Past
2. Stealth
3. Pretend It Will End
4. Cutters

The Review:

There are 3 types of heavy bands; those which employ speed and ferocity, those whose use of atmosphere creates a tension and sense of foreboding and those who are slow and forceful, pummelling listeners with Sledgehammer riffs. On 'In The Lair Of Lucid Nightmares', Sweden's Pissboiler take the latter 2 and craft a brilliant album of terrifying proportions.

Creeping from the murky chasms, 'Ruins Of The Past' is 17 minutes of funeral procession-esque death/doom. Vocalist LG (no, not that LG) produces a guttural roar that sounds like it's bellowed from the 7th later of hell and the riffs saunter with My Dying Bridelike misery in tow. The production from band member Karl Wijk enhances each element with each instrument clinging to their own space while bleeding nicely into others. 'Stealth' comes as a bit of a surprise with it's lonely jazzy bass riff dripping with chorus and reverb and, at under 3 minutes, is the album's shortest track by far. The respite is short lived as 'Pretend It Will End'is utterly harrowing. Blood curdling growls and piercing shrieks team with suicide inducing, slow riffs before the bells toll and things take a slight turn with a riff reminiscent of Burning Witch. A very disturbing sample from a doctor talking to her patient, sets the tone for final track 'Cutters'; the atmosphere builds slowly with cavernous growls and swelling guitar drones and never stops the barrage of depressive doom. Some harsh screams burst through the bass heavy droning making for a truly unsettling experience.

For a fairly unknown band to create something this comprehensive (and very impressive) goes to show the talent that lurks in the darkest corners. If Sunn 0))) had released this, it would make the top 10 end of year lists of several well known publications, but for those of us who judge things on merit, it will most definitely be a contender, regardless of their standing.  

“In The Lair of Lucid Nightmares” is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Nibiru - "Qaal Babalon"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released:22/09/2017

Label: Argonauta Records

Those who have followed Nibiru's past releases recognize the group has a way of creating dauntless music beyond what even the most experimental metal is about. "Qaal Babalon" is its best work to date, though you have to wonder how far the band can take this style next.

"Qaal Babalon" CD//DD track listing:

1. Oroch

2. Faboan

3. Bahal Gah

4. Oxex

The Review:

Standards for EPs versus full-length releases are a perplexing question. Is it a length thing? Number of tracks? And in a genre renown for sprawling cuts, what does it really mean anyway? In the matter of Nibiru, a performer that has its own talent for those long explorations, answers are even harder to come by.

Turin, Italy's Nibiru (not to be mistaken by the Russian metalcore band with the same moniker) are back to wrap up the year with a four-song release clocking in at nearly an hour. These have been an active few years for the trio. Nibiru's 2013 debut, “Caosgon”, was reissued in February 2016, the group offered up a fantastic EP, “Teloch”; and then more recordings in 2015 (“Padmalotus”) and 2014 (“Netrayoni”). Nibiru, in its releases, delivers a compelling brand of doom that melds drone, psychedelica and sludge. Drone and even a hint of funeral doom are perhaps the most prominent sounds in Nibiru's vision, and such may certainly define your love for the band, or it’s new, quite masterful, return in "Qaal Babalon."

The 19-minute "Oroch" begins the release with Ardath's transcendent guitar and vocals. Thick with effects, the instrumentation is supplemented with disharmonious drones. Black metal has its own symphonic offshoot. If drone doom had a related offspring, Nibiruwould be one of its great adherents. The song has a tremendously deep and apocalyptic feel to it all. As it chugs to the midway point, Ardath unleashes a ritualistic vocal that comes across as a particularly sinister chant more than a growl in the best, most infernal way. Make no bones about it – even for an ardent doom fan, this is a very punishing start. Yet its conclusion, with its black metal-esque curvature of lyrics, will be incredibly satisfying for those who stay the course.

Through the middle of the recording, "Faboan"and "Bahal Gah" are both the most provocative tracks because they are each going to demonstrate a side of Nibiruyou would not expect after the start of"Qaal Babalon." "Faboan" is the most accessible song on the release. It is not only a faithful and compelling doom composition, but there are post-rock and punk influences evident particularly across instrumental bridges. As such, as a second cut, this is a surprising and excellent choice because it builds on the imposing opener with something more comprehensible to the new fan. The next song verges into territory blazed by the opening, while managing to introduce sludge and drone that make it less disorienting than the selection could easily go off into. Praise be to L.C. Chertan on drums, whose work really steadies the song and brings out the potency of its first three minutes. Again, Ardath proves to be an agile vocalist, hitting a lower register and meeting the downtempo mood and effects.

Before you get the idea that Nibiru are now shooting for Mastodon-level acceptability, the band closes with "Oxex,"far more temerarious an entry than even the opening. Where to begin? Few extreme music songs ever neatly fit a category. Nowhere is that more pronounced than here. From its ceremonial drum beginnings to its gentle guitar contrasted against the serrated vocals, Nibiru enters into a trancelike state, with even a tambourine. At unexpected moments, doom bass lines pick at your flesh, but the mood refuses to until around the ninth minute. Then, with a hellish whisper, Nibirugoes not into a raging metal romp, but… silence, then drone. And then… things you will just have to listen to find.

Those who have followed Nibiru's past releases recognize the group has a way of creating dauntless music beyond what even the most experimental metal is about. "Qaal Babalon" is its best work to date, though you have to wonder how far the band can take this style next.

"Qaal Babalon" is available here:

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Blood of Sokar - "Blood of Sokar"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 25/08/ 2017

Label: Lighten Up Sounds

From the opening song, "Cælestibus," cresting into "Hallucinatus," there is an unfathomable well of torment and apoplexy. The music's dirge only heaps dirt upon the exasperation that sets in. Blood of Sokar's thick bass and sludge-infested guitar lines virtually guarantee this temperament will not cease.  This Seattle-based act, which transcends funeral doom and blackened doom, delivers exactly the kind of recording that fear is made of.

 

“Blood of Sokar “CS//DD track listing:

1. Cælestibus

2. Hallucinatus

3. Hecatomb

4. Mortem Ventum

The Review:

One of the most disturbing horror films of the last few years, depending on who you ask, was 2015's “Baskin”. The New York Times called the Turkish movie, "a buffet for gore enthusiasts, without ever totally losing its elegance — unless your definition of that word could never encompass a graphic disembowelment or an unexpected stabbing of an eye." It is in truth quite a brutal fantasy, filled with mythic monsters and a curious tale, and quite a lot of violence.

Without spoiling it – and if you like the harsher brands of horror signified by the New French Extremity era of works like “Martyrs” and “Dans Ma Peau/In My Skin”, “Baskin”may be for you – there is a moment when the motion picture's protagonists approach the Ottoman Era building that once housed a police station. It is just the moment before Hell truly breaks loose.

If that moment of “Baskin”, where feet unknowingly tread upon this ignoble place, had a soundtrack, Blood of Sokar's self-titled debut would be it.

The Seattle-based act, which transcends funeral doom and blackened doom, delivers exactly the kind of recording that fear is made of. The heaviness screams and indecipherable vocals are stagnant as an abandoned structure with its own stories untold. You can feel those spirits cut right through you in a track like "Hecatomb,"with its dissonant caws that at last merge into something sounding almost melodic. Hard to access, but rattling and memorable this debut is.

Over its four-song, 37-minute tale, Blood of Sokar tells a story that is largely one of your imagination. This is primarily because the recording's vocals are so thickly layered and droned out that your mind has to paint the picture. Such vocals are harder to pull off than you might think, simply because they form songs that are not the conflict-context-unity of your usual songwriting. The listener is challenged to see the song as a complete work, and to be part of the music as art. Lots of doom and black metal offer concept albums and stories behind and within their songs. This self-titled release is purely a tale you conjure. Hence it is difficult to recall a release that did this style very effectively since Diamanda Galas' 1993 masterpiece “Vena Cava”, a representation of the effects of dementia brought on by HIV (see Galas' 1991 live performance album “Plague Mass” as precursor to this story) or 1996's “Schrei X”, a homage to German avant garde music. Blood of Sokarnevertheless does an admirable and at many turns riveting take on this approach.

From the opening song, "Cælestibus," cresting into "Hallucinatus," there is an unfathomable well of torment and apoplexy. The music's dirge only heaps dirt upon the exasperation that sets in. Blood of Sokar's thick bass and sludge-infested guitar lines virtually guarantee this temperament will not cease.

Blood of Sokar is an overpowering new addition to funeral doom, and one that may just score a future nightmare.

“Blood of Sokar”is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Boris - "Dear"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 14/07/2017

Label: Sargent House |

Daymare Recordings 

From the opening track, “D.O.W.N. –Domination of Waiting Noise–“, Boris conveys punishing volume so effectively that your ears will ache at practically any level.  Every note and every layered vocal has been obsessed over, placed perfectly in the mix, and acts as a distillation of twenty-five years of intense collaborative synthesis.

Dear CD//DD//LP track listing

1. D.O.W.N. –Domination of Waiting Noise–

2. DEADSONG

3. Absolutego

4. Beyond

5. Kagero

6. Biotope

7. The Power

8. Memento Mori

9. Dystopia –Vanishing Point–

10. Dear

The Review

                 

There is a unique feeling of terror when diving into the sprawling works of prolific musicians: where do you start with a catalog as huge as say, Frank Zappa?  Ani DiFranco?  Napalm Death or Earth or Neurosis – bands that have entire ERAS that are written off or championed?  What are the agreed-upon masterpieces?  The overrated tracks?  The overlooked gems?  If you wade into the world of jazz or jam bands or any other artist where specific performances are dissected just as intensely as studio cuts, you may as well surrender yourself to a hermetic life of obsessive collecting and analysis.  Imagine the trepidation, then, for any newbie to Japanese avant-garde metal / electronic / rock / experimental legends Boris, who have, to date, released over twenty full-length records – not counting their live and studio works with fellow musical outlier Merzbow, collaborative efforts with SUNN O))), splits, rarities, remixes, and  compilation albums.  “Dear”, their twenty-fourth offering, was originally intended as a farewell record, marking 25 years since the band’s inception.  It’s also my first introduction to their unique blend of droning, buzzing, melodic, invigorating, and crushing mastery.  God help me… I may need to do a full dive into their discography.

               

From the opening track, “D.O.W.N. –Domination of Waiting Noise–“, Borisconveys punishing volume so effectively that your ears will ache at practically any level.  The sheer amount of space between chords leaves room for sickening, pulsating feedback, brilliantly complimented with the clean vocals.  Remarkably, Boris manages to retain undeniable heft when blasting uplifting, major key progressions.  The turns to sinister, minor key melodies and softy, whispered vocals in tracks like “DEADSONG” or “Beyond” is even more powerful when juxtaposed with the cathartic, rocking crescendos that punctuate the record.

When Boris edges toward the ethereal balladry of Sigur Ros, their dark instincts to destruction and dissonance always pulls the band away from the precipice of twee post-rock.  The sheer filth of the riffs on “Kagero” and “Memento Mori” earn every falsetto phrase, making passages that could be cliché totally sublime instead.  “Absolutego”is the closest to a lead single on the record – a grunge rocker that shares its name with their 1996 debut album.  But then Boris eschew any of this pop rock sensibility on droning, doom instrumental “The Power” or the sludgy title track, opting for sheer sonic bombardment that will rattle the fillings right out of your teeth.  Yet there’s always an uncanny feeling that despite the idiosyncratic rhythms, the synthesized noises sputtering at seemingly random intervals, the feedback so furious the whole band sounds like it may just keel over and fall apart, this is a meticulous production.  Every note and every layered vocal has been obsessed over, placed perfectly in the mix, and acts as a distillation of twenty-five years of intense collaborative synthesis.

If there’s one complaint you can lob at “Dear”, it’s the unwieldy runtime.  At nearly seventy minutes, there are moments that drag slightly.  A two disc version appends three more tracks and over twenty more minutes.  It’s hard to imagine, but enough songs were recorded on top of these for at least two more full-length albums.  At times you can’t help but wonder what the editing process even looks like for Boris when the album itself is so huge, so disparate, and, truth be told, so consistently compelling.  I’m certain that well after Boris puts out that FINAL final album, there will be plenty of outtakes, demos, alternate remixes, and live versions for completists to pore over for years.  With “Dear”as my first entry into their legendary, sublime canon, I may one day count myself among the obsessive’s.

“Dear” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

VIDEO PREMIERE: Progressive sludge trio Upcdownc usher forth droning sludge goodness on "Adrift"

 

Progressive, sludge, horror themed synth outfit Upcdownc who are set to release their new album ‘I, Awake’ on 22nd September have team up with THE SLUDGELORD to share a crushing new track “Adrift” which is under 2mins of drone building up into solid sludge goodness. 

 

Horror is one theme that is constant throughout their forthcoming album ‘I, Awake’ and the band are heavily influenced by composers such as Fabio Frizzi, John Carpenter and they also take cue from the Shogun Assassin soundtrack, which led to the use of synthesizers on the album.  

 

Guitarist Chris Garth adds, ‘we liked the idea of lots of small sections put together in bigger passages so that they form one whole entire piece which doesn't necessarily have to be played in the same order when playing live. We had also started to use loops but wanted to keep things simple so used them more for textures rather than melodies, as we always like to record live with minimal overdubs.’ 

 

Since forming in 2000 Upcdownchave gone on to the share the stage with the likes of Bossk, 65daysofstatic and Oneidaas well appearing at festivals including ArcTanGent and Belgium’s Dunk! Festival. Upcdownchave also announced a series of shows to support the release of ‘I, Awake’. You can check out the amazing track “Adrift” below

Live Rituals:

15th Sept - Birthdays, London
16th Sept - Sticky Mikes, Brighton
20th Oct - Hijack, Bolougne Sur Mer
22nd Oct - Music City, Antwerp

Band info: bandcamp || facebook



ALBUM REVIEW: Monarch - "Never Forever"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 22/09/ 2017

Label: Profound Lore Records

Monarch orchestrates layers upon layers of sound that roil gently like a dirty bayou. Bresson's vocals – from plaintive wisps to growls and beyond – make Monarch unlike anything else you hear in doom or drone. Such innovation is why the outfit has cultivated a devoted following throughout their extensive career. Never Forever" gives you a side of Monarch that is rarely seen, and is indicative of a fearless performance. Drone is seldom this accessible, or distinguished.

“Never Forever” CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Of Night, With Knives

2. Song To The Void

3. Cadaverine

4. Diamant Noir

5. Lilith

The Review:

“Sabbracadaver”, the 2014 release by Monarch, was widely hailed for its original sound and vision. This moodiest of doom bands comprised songs that were dissonant yet transcendent. Vocalist Emilie Bresson's bold and rangy performance was among the release's celestial surprises.

Its work of three years back is hardly a flash in the pan, however. The lavish praise Monarch has received from many for their seven previous full lengths, four EPs and other recordings is much deserved. The French ensemble's brand of drone doom is enterprising in a subgenre that can feel like a musician is not trying that hard. In contrast, Monarchorchestrates layers upon layers of sound that roil gently like a dirty bayou. Bresson's vocals – from plaintive wisps to growls and beyond – make Monarch unlike anything else you hear in doom or drone. Such innovation is why the outfit has cultivated a devoted following throughout their extensive career.

"Never Forever" gives you a side of Monarchthat is rarely seen, and is indicative of a fearless performance. Their five-song opus ticks in at around an hour, featuring songs that strike to the very essence of drone while skirting a melodic, albeit despondent, tempo. Drone is seldom this accessible, or distinguished.

"Of Night, With Knives" plunges you into "Never Forever" as a 15-minute journey to the depths. Its two minutes of slow build hurls you into exactly what makes Monarch so great – dread-soaked guitars, downtempo witness-to-the-execution bass and the shrieks, whispers and growls of Breeson commanding it all at once. The beauty of the cut is its many dimensions. A third or fourth listen and you will notice more than the layered background vocals behind the shouts, but also the syncopation of the drums alongside the ups and downs. You catch a variety of other complexities in "Cadaverine," which begins with clinking bottles ala the 1979 film The Warriors and beautiful singing, only to swoop in with a black cloak of sound. Similar to previous selections, this nearly 18-minute centerpiece melds ethereal vocals and an arrangement that harkens images of a funeral, only to unfold into interloping snarls and shuddersome bass. The conflicting energies in the song seem to circle about five minutes in. The sheer heaviness of the encounter makes it feel like a life-and-death experience. Although it would be cruel to mention the apparent victor, it is doom, so you can likely guess.

Beyond this creativity, what makes "Never Forever" such a superlative recording is Beeson's dissimilar microphone attack. The death growl comes as easily as the empyreal coo, as the spoken declaration flows as the gut-wrenching clamor. This convergence is in wicked display on the album's standout track, "Diamant Noir," and the closing, "Lilith." As well, the music itself is devastatingly good. It too is diverse as drone doom can be, with chords feeling as musical as some of the greats. By the time you make it through all 20 minutes of the concluding cut, Monarch's status will only grow richer.

"Never Forever" is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: facebook