German psychedelic doom rockers Monolith return with their third full-length album »Horizon«
Bremen, Germany based psychedelic doom rock trio Monolith return with their third full-length album, »Horizon«, which was just released this Friday, April 26th, 2024.
Tracklist:
01. Neptune’s Daughter
02. Disease
03. Be Slow Or Be Dead
04. Stuck In The Ice
05. Midnight Sun
06. Long Way Back
07. Horizon
Founded in 2010 Monolith quickly started playing shows nationwide – supporting Kadavar among others – and promoting their four-track demo.
In April 2014 Monolith released their nationally and internationally acknowledged long-player »Dystopia«. Small and big fanzines, as well as, worldwide online reviews attested the band a more than well-made debut album. The release was followed by various concerts nationwide and abroad.
Shortly after the trio started working on their second album – »Mountain« – which was released in March 2016. This release also received plenty of national and international resonance. A tour followed the release and some shows on festivals. The band stayed true to themselves: charismatic vocals, ruff guitars, a tight bass and powerful drums.
Sound-wise Monolith are oriented towards the hard rock music of the 60’s and 70’s. Every song is recorded live in the studio. Only guitar solos and vocals are added later as overdubs.
This was the case too in the summer of 2023 when Monolith recorded their third album »Horizon« in the renowned Studio Nord in Bremen within three days only.
This third and latest long-player displays some of the band’s as yet unknown facets. While »Dystopia« could be described as straight stoner/doom rock the following album »Mountain« showed some stylistic development. »Horizon« features an even wider range of the band’s musical influences.
»Horizon« reveals more psychedelic elements than its predecessors. The songwriting has become a little more complex than before while at the same time it has a certain lightness to it. A nod towards british bands cannot be ignored and at the end of the album the band surprises the listener with a ballad.
The lyrics on »Horizon« deal with the last Franklin Expedition which was undertaken in the middle of the 19th century which not only lead to Franklin’s death but also to the tragic deaths of all other crew members.
However, the lyrics are not in every way historically correct. They are loosely based on the explorer’s existential experience – their lust for adventure on the one hand but on the other hand their slowly perishing, their suffering but also their hope to escape the ice in the end but then their final resignation and their surrendering themselves to their fate – which is the topic of the album’s title track.
Monolith is:
Ralf Brummerloh – Vocals, Guitar
Ron Osenbrück – Guitar
Andre Dittmann – Drums
Monolith live:
● April 27: Tower Musikclub, Bremen (DE) with Eta Lux & Mos Eisley Spaceport – »Horizon« release show // Facebook Event
● June 7: Logo, Hamburg (DE) with Eta Lux & Calma
● August 9-11: Frechen (DE), Trafostation 61-Festival
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well