Get That Volume...

Monolith - Even More (2015)

After releasing their excellent second EP Louder last year, Monolith stepped into the studio to put together their first full album, and the result is a heady trip of heavy rock with a wide streak of stoner and desert rock vibes.  Whether it's from having more room to play, or just a shift in mood, the general mood of Even More has a little less mania to it than Louder, though it does come through when they want to ride the wilder side of things.  Stretches of sun-baked warmth (heck, they even put some bongo drums to work at one point) provide the main animation for the songs, with fuzzy echoes from the bass and other lightly psych-soaked touches giving each track its own character and surprises that stay fresh several listens on.  

By the time "Orange Moon" arrives with its down-beat mood to ease the album to a close, there's an impulse to just hit play again and take the ride over from the start, making for one of those perfectly self-contained albums that can stay with you for years.  If you're not already familiar with Monolith, give this a listen or three, then pick up their EPs so you don't burn yourself out too soon.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Ape Skull, Powered Wig Machine, Mother Mars, Jussipussi, Stonebirds

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Monolith - Beautiful and Damned (320 kbps)

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The Metal Age...

Monolith - Against the Wall of Forever (2015)

Just from looking at the track titles on the new album from the US-based Monolith, it's clear that they're going back to the heavy metal of the '80s for their inspiration.  After all, you're not that likely these days when thumbing through non-throwback albums to find names like "The All-Father and the Chaos Lords" or "The Emperor (The Suffering of Fools)", and while the band's vocals sometimes go harder than the average group of that era would have tackled, Monolith's channeling from the swords-and-bikinis cover art era is generally on-target.  Thankfully, they don't go over-board with the fantasy elements (though there's certainly some air-brushed van-side images coming to life in the lyrics), and the winking tongue-in-cheekiness that usually goes with '70s/'80s heavy metal homages is kept below the level of painfully obnoxious.
Moments like the theatrically demonic main character of "Kindly Dr. Jest (The Interrogator)" (enacted with a vocal delivery so over-the-top you can practically imagine the singer capering around in the studio with the microphone in his hand) are likely to be the highest hurdles to clear for modern audiences, as they show a willingness to get silly that was mainly relegated to the likes of power metal and cock rock once heavy metal started splitting into sub-genres.  At the same time, they can deliver a mean riff, there's some bonza barrages from the drummer, and the band really cooks when they put themselves to it.  It's just metal in the classic sense, and they do a damn good job of it.
~ Gabriel

For Fans Of;    Exciter, English Dogs, The Sword, Judas Priest, Valkyrie

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Monolith - Elusive Prey (The Hunter) (320 kbps)

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Warriors Of Stone...

Monolith - Louder (2014)

Monolith's new EP lives up to its name, providing megalithic slabs of fuzz-swaddled, grungy, psychedelic-tinged heavy rock. Opening with “The Scarred”, which drops like a load of bricks and keeps raining mortar dust into your ears, Louder hits the ground running and keeps up that admirable pace until the finish line. “If!?”, the second of the three tracks, turns up the aggression without losing the groove, and the closer, “Smelly Desert” shifts smoothly into a full-grit desert rock mode, putting an excellent personal spin on the familiar sounds of that musical style. Crisp and high-impact drumming, guitar with real character to it, and vocals that rise up without shaking off the residual grime (I mean that in the best of ways) gives Monolith a very strong EP, and one worth snagging if you have fondness for heavy rock, desert rock, stoner rock, or basically any other type of rock with a rough edge that you can think up. This crew is solid.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Rhino, Brimstone Coven, Wizard Smoke, Celophys, Wicked Lady

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Monolith - The Scarred

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