No Comfort

At the end of September Monlord dropped their new full length. While slightly behind schedule I have here a review for this new opus of Swedish doom metal. The album is out now via Relapse Records.

Sometimes you might feel like you want all the walls of riff a band such as Conan has to offer but maybe prefer something less abrasive or with a more minimalistic touch, that is where I enter Monolord as a fantastic choice to go with. The album opens with catchy and fuzzy riff work bringing in a Sabbath vibe from the onset, something I do not envision anybody complaining about. The haunting chill of distant vocals and primitive drum beats pounding adds to the slab of smooth grooves that hits us hard. The album has a very slow burn feel, like a pre 80s horror movie that develops beautifully thought with glistening instrumental work that has a monstrous amount of amplification pushing some killer tones over hammered out drums. The vocals are minimal and really complement the music without ever becoming obnoxious, grating or getting in the way of the hypnotising catharsis this record offers.

The crystal clear production allows you to truly experience each note of distorted, rumbling doom metal prowess that the band offer which delivers a crushing blow and excellent songwriting for over 45 minutes, making for a solid and relatively concise and punchy release that still has plenty of time to develop, and do so marvellously. With touches of psychedelia, grunge and so much attitude to back up a monolith of riff-craft, this moody record will have you entranced from the first play-through and will not become dull with repeat listens, making for a staunch and vibrant album all fans of doom/stoner/sludge metal will want to check out.

From being tearfully melancholic and tranquil to full blow onslaughts of fuzzy doom, there is never a dull moment with Monolord.

Written for www.nattskog.wordpress.com

So, what exactly does it take for a doom metal album to fully assuage/mollify seasoned saturnine proclivities, all the whilst gingerly balancing stoically unwavering grooves and pandering, down-tuned affinities with token instances of meaty as well as sped-up, or even creepy-cat calling, interludes of a decidedly atmospheric and glum (as opposed to hum drum) nature? No amount of wordy legerdemain can possibly render justice to this heady demand. Instead, why not permit Monolord's fourth full-length album, No Comfort - released, in September, on every format know to man (except eight-track, unfortunately) under Pennsylvania's Erudite Relapse Records - the honor of a timely, if not festively lugubrious, retort in this slackened albeit provocative n' evocative regard?

Although the six-tiered release commences, auspiciously enough, with a buzzing and raw, "Stone Magnet"/"Devil's Bride" (i.e. Electric Wizard circa 1994) styled mid-tempo guitar riff heralding a whopping 9.5 minute opener in "The Bastard Son" (which, strangely, swerves by in a rather anodyne but celebratory manner), with, to boot, a slowly divulged, lazy drum beat and plodding bass line, things soon turn lanky and mercurial thanks to the wistfully cathartic debauch of "The Last Leaf", to my avian ears, somewhat of an undead (live) ringer for Craneium's breezy "Manifest" bolt, from the Finns' The Narrow Line sophomore. Furthermore, leads, as is often the case as far as stoner/doom wiles go, are conservatively albeit sagely deployed; dig the mildly honky-tonk-ish guitar solo wheezing its sordid way in at 07:44, as well as twang-embellished, slightly V. Griffin-like "camp-fire" conjuring overtures peppering the shorter, yet as spectral and spooky, "The Last Leaf".

If anything, this is definitely a case of "less is more", or maybe even quality over quantity. Also, the firm, well-rounded production level allows each member's contributions to fully bloom and, er, take flight, from Mika Häkkw's egregiously solid and plump, however languorous, bass lines - particularly on the "Funeralopolis" reminiscent, fore mentioned "La Derniere Feuille" - to Essen Willems's squat, rotund drum trajectory, its lot nocturnally basted with front/ax man Thomas Jäger(meister)'s higher pitched/ranged tenure(s). Essentially, and while it pertain's rather to Mo-lord's Rust venture, with its slightly less decorative and crunchier initiative, "the most important thing in doom metal is the power of the riff" - I believe a wise colleague hereabouts said so at one point or another. Thus, the crankily grueling aplomb of "The Bastard Son"'s first half, along with the mountainously enveloping, brute sway of "Skywards" (its mammoth cavort-er of a bass line is further cause for astonished glee), contrasts starkly, not to mention most effectively, with the eerie, horror-film conduit of "Larvae", a track which never fails to assure its fair share of shudders/tremors/goose bumps/(biological response to fear of your choice, here).

Following "Skywards"'s languidly pentatonic cleanse - denoted as it is by a highly vivid closing refrain - a melancholic and wispy (also salubriously strummed) "Alone Together" drags this darkened voyage along towards its extra-long finale, the eleven minute/eleventh hour "No Comfort" proper; extensively so, as I feel the album may have benefitted from a total running time closer to the forty-minute mark. In other, spread-eagle('d) words, one's patience is minutely tested in this last quarter, no matter how congruously ill-omened its charge.

Frankly, when first hearing (of) Monolord - not to be confused with Ottawa's Monobrow, figured the trio rose from somewhere not only out of time, but some lowbrow place like Indiana or Massachusetts; you know, home to various dyed-in-the-feathers doom acts revered by and large here at the Metal-Archives. Regardless of origin, the Swedish formation is a must-hear for fans of classic genre purveyors such as Electric Wizard (duh!), Pale Divine and Penance, as well as more recent arrivals in Hungary's Spiritbell, Italy's cryptically "dated" 1782 or, whaddya know, Indy's Void King, for instance. Plus, that wing-spawning owl(ie) gracing the ether is just so...bonny!

No Comfort is an unusual title for Monolord’s fourth full-length album when you consider that it may be the Swedes’ most melodic effort thus far. Doubling down on the elements that started taking effect on 2017’s Rust, the vocals are upfront and center in the mix and the guitars have about as much time devoted to cleaner passages and acoustics as fuzz-driven riffs. The band retains their post-Wizard stoner doom pacing, but the dynamics are closer to what Mars Red Sky or Pallbearer have been doing lately.

While these softer elements don’t dominate every single track, even the heavier numbers have that underlying influence. “The Bastard Son” starts the album off with a conventional riff set and easygoing pace, but the vocals are highly prominent, and the midway instrumental segment quiets things down smoothly even if it doesn’t commit to the psychedelia that manifests later on. “The Last Leaf” and “Skywards” put in more up-tempo riff sets, the former reaching its peak as its grimy bass line competes with acoustic accompaniment. Thankfully it never sounds jarring.

But No Comfortis arguably at its best when the band completely commits to the more melodic aspects. “Larvae” and the title track work as almost ballads, still crawling at a monolithic pace with held out chords to spare but marrying them with more uplifting progressions and nicely escalating drum work on the former. “Alone Together” is unlike anything else under the Monolord banner, driven by a creeping bass march with the guitars pulled back to acoustic strums and building leads. Part of me thinks it would’ve been cool to see further use of the keyboards and violin that popped up on Rust, but these songs manage to sound full without them.

Overall, Monolord’s fourth album is another notch in what looks to be a satisfying uphill trajectory. While the songs aren’t quite as overtly catchy as those on Rust, the writing is quite memorable, and the shift to a more melodic style never feels watered down. The dynamic transitions are also efficiently executed, no doubt reflecting the musicians’ tight as hell yet free-flowing chemistry. No Comfort is a natural development that should sit well with Monlord’s established fans and hopefully open more doors for even greater success to come.

Highlights:
“The Last Leaf”
“Larvae”
“Skywards”

Originally published at http://indymetalvault.com