Album Review
Monolord – Vænir review
Riding Easy Records
Review by Mike Bax
Soooo fucking good!!
Hm. Maybe a little more than that, yes? When guitar player and vocalist Thomas Jäger (Marulk), drummer Esben Willems (Marulk) and bassist Mika Häkki (Rotten Sound) got together in 2013 and unleashed Empress Rising upon unsuspecting masses, the album was universally lauded among doom-metal enthusiasts as something genuinely exciting within the genre. CVLT Nation named it the number one doom release of 2014. And here we are now with Monolord’s sophomore release – Vænir (release last week, on April 28th).
Six sludgy, doom laden tracks of sullen excellence that somehow manage to up their game from last year’s Empress Rising. Much of the material on Vænir sounds like the love child of Black Sabbath and Melvins performed at half speed. The ten-minute long “Died A Million Times” (for me, anyway) is the signature track on the album, if nothing else for the creative use of swirling guitar riffs reminiscent of the finest Sabbath songs.
Yet another wonderful band hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, Monolord do more than deliver the goods on Vænir – they are paving the way for doom metal, setting a high benchmark for everyone else within the genre to aspire to.
monolord.com
www.facebook.com/monolordsweden
twitter.com/monolordsweden
Fuel: “I love this music. It deserves to continue existing in the world.”
Smash Mouth: “I want it to be exciting, regain that excitement and still have that Smash Mouth feel.”
The Wombats‘ Resurgence Continues with Raucous Night at Halifax Piece Hall [Photos]
AFI Bring an Energetic Connection and Career-Spanning Set to London’s Shepherds Bush Empire [Photos]
Brett Kiewiet Releases New Album ‘God Above Looking Down’
Brian Howell Releases New Single “Tattoo”
Slick Krugers Releases New Album ‘The Traveling Alchemist, Vol. 2’
Barth Beasley Premieres His Vibrant “I Used To Be” Music Video
-
Hardcore/Punk4 days agoSmash Mouth: “I want it to be exciting, regain that excitement and still have that Smash Mouth feel.”
-
MAKE // BREAK3 days agoHow The Funk Made a Silent Film in 48 Hours with a $400 Mistake
-
Album News6 hours agoBrett Kiewiet Releases New Album ‘God Above Looking Down’
-
Album News4 days agoEscape the Fate Announce New Album ‘The Last Goodbye’
-
Metal4 days agoFear Factory Unleashes Machine-Driven New Single “Roboticist”
-
Album News3 days agoThe Monsters Mark 40 Years with New Album ‘Off The Road We Go’
-
Folk/Singer-Songwriter2 days agoBarth Beasley Premieres His Vibrant “I Used To Be” Music Video
-
Album News1 day agoSlick Krugers Releases New Album ‘The Traveling Alchemist, Vol. 2’