Album Review: Monolord - Neverending
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
The return of Sweden’s majestic doom merchants Monolord, see the trio taking a new direction in their quest to find something innovative within the genre. Aided by legendary producer Sylvia Massy, their sixth album is sharper and more personal as they have brought in fresh ideas and created music described by bassist Mika Haki’ as “an example of the spirit of Monolord’s camaraderie”.
The opening track, “Iodine” was inspired by 70’s rock epics like Lynard Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” and “Hotel California” by The Eagles, and it’s the bass that immediately pulverises your system, as the sharp drumming from Esben Willems pierces your eardrums with every snap of the snare. Then you are taken on an emotional rollercoaster with their recently released single, “You Bastard” as the song offers a sharp contrast on the two sides of suicide. The music has swathes of groove cursing through the composition, as the lyrics flip between the person left behind after another commits suicide, but not blaming them, as Thomas Jager points out, “it’s an understanding that life is not easy”.
“Inside a Collider” is a monster of a song, at just over eight minutes in length, it has that hypnotic effect from the off, as the band’s reputation for producing repetitive soundscapes comes to the surface once again. The sharper focus come bounding out on the excellent “Crystal Bridge” as it’s got a heavy guitar riff from Jager that’s pleasing to hear as the bass continues to destroy your eardrums. However, the contrasting softness in the chorus offers more depth before it abruptly ends.
There’s a delicious down-turned riff that drags you into “Oozing World” and it provides a timely reminder of what Monolord are all about. The bass and guitar collide over the song structure to create a quite superb doom track that will please both old and new fans. A shorter number called “The Masque” follows offering a slightly different sound before the heavy repetitive monstrous riffs return on “Invisible”.
For the final closing track, they have gone rogue, with “It’s Neverending” being the first ever Monolord song that Jager hasn’t sung on, as he hands over vocal duties to former Entombed bassist Jorgen Sandstrom. It’s a behemoth of a track as he delivers the death metal vocals over the slow, bludgeoning guitars that consume everything around it. There’s a softer conflicting sound just to add to the dramatic nature of the song, as it provides a calming effect on the standout album track.
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