Monolithe - Interlude Second EP

Monoliths are very mysterious yet developed machines (invented by Arthur C. Clarke), which were created by an alien race far more advanced than humans. In fact, as can be seen at the start of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke shows us that monoliths are actually largely responsible for the development of the human race itself, giving one of our prehistoric forms the ability to use tools. These monoliths have been the recurrent theme and vehicle of French funeral doom band Monolithe to explore or speculate upon the origins of humanity through metal. It’s quite deep subject matter for a metal band, and Monolithe have always been a band who took their music very seriously. They planned out the entire course of the band’s history before they were even properly formed, that being five full-length albums titled I - V and two EPs. Now, eleven years later, I and II have been released as well as the two interlude EPs, and the long-awaited III – an album of great expectations - is to be released later on in 2012.

Monolith’s first two albums received a lot of credit in the underground, but I have to admit that they never really blew my mind although I did find their music enjoyable. Interlude Premiere was an interesting variation as well, but Interlude Second really has a distinctly different atmosphere, and in my opinion a more mature one. This is still funeral doom, but it is much less conventional than the band’s earlier efforts. It truthfully reminds me more of Blut Aus Nord than it does Skepticism – after all it’s no secret that Vindsval has had his hands deep in the Monolithe pot lately, providing vocals and clearly some other influences as well. Apart from being Monolithe’s darkest and most foreboding venture, it also has a much more industrialized side, especially in the percussion. The drums click away at calculating yet unpredictable rhythms, and the guitars drift horrifically through dissonances that are all smacking of post-The Work Which Transforms God Blut Aus Nord. The vocals have been seriously evilled up to boot. It’s is a bit more minimalist than before and it almost has the feeling of being an improvised jam (a very cold, doomed one), but it’s still a genuine convergence of the two entities, retaining some of the romanticism of the previous records.

Interlude Second also differs to its predecessors in that it has two tracks instead of only one: The first is twenty-five minutes with the second running eleven. They are both droning, but the second one has more keyboards and experimentalism. The quality of the music is definitely high, but I am a big fan of all of Vindsval’s work. However, the mini-album is, as you might assume, an interlude, and it feels very much like a taste of something to come, not yet reaching the final depths of this idea. And thus many metalheads (myself included) now patiently await the release of III, which if you judge by this record is something to be pretty excited about.

In short: Crushing abysmal blackened doom. A band that will probably shoot even further into the forefront of the funeral scene this year.

Standout tracks: Both form one

Score: 8.0

Year of No Light & Altar of Plagues Split

Here we are given a ten-minute song from France’s Year of No Light, a post-sludge/doom/whatever sextet, and a sixteen-minute song from Ireland’s Altar of Plagues, a band who has been getting a lot of acclaim recently for their post-sludge black metal fusion, so we know before listening that this is going to be far from traditional. From the back catalogues of these bands, I expected Year of No Light to be enjoyable yet unremarkable, and Altar of Plagues to bear the stamp of excellence. I turned out to be almost correct.

Year of No Light’s Møn is an instrumental piece of emotional sludge, strong melodies layered in rich sounds. A slow yet decisive track that builds up some fire toward the end, this song is like all of YoNL’s work in that Isis, Neurosis and Jesu can all be heard in it. However, the melody is simply rockin’ – slow, serious, but still grooving. Very cool, and rich effects too. I would have to say that this is one their best tunes, and that the band has been steadily improving their style over the years. Dropping the vocals permanently I think was a good idea, as their music is much less progressive than that of Isis or Neurosis, and the lack of vocals makes it’s trudging pace quite relaxing. If this band continues to work at their style they could make some great music.

Altar of Plagues are a great new rock band by any measure. Excellent song-writing and atmospheric black metal epics imbued with a sludgy heaviness are their trademark. Light Through a Tomb takes a slightly different formula, offering up a strong narrative structure. The song starts with a 7 minute blissful post-rock swelling, before distortion hits, and another four minutes of ominous chords before raging black metal splits the song open. This contrast is obviously a symbol of destruction and descent. A mere two minutes of chaos ensue before it boils abruptly down to a cold drone that peters out into nothing. This song structure places emphasis on close-listening in order to truly appreciate the different and relative parts, and it makes the actual BM all the more powerful and frightening for having only a short glimpse of it, as if it were some night-time horror that always left the majority of its form hidden.

In short: Two wins from the post-metal scene from me with this release.

Standout tracks: Both

Score: 8.5