Band:	Monolithe
Album:	Monolithe I
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	2003

01. Monolithe I

Monolithe hail from France and they consist of members of Anthemon, The Old Dead Tree, Despond etc and as you might have guessed from their name they play ultra slow, heavy and powerful at the same time music. Funeral doom is what Monolithe play, but they don't move in the nightmarish paths of this genre, they prefer to dwell in its most depressive and bittersweet soundscapes and they succeed into making the listener surrender in his own esoteric world of bleeding emotions.

Monolithe really make you wonder how can they be such a great band and compose an album consisting only of one composition, "Monolithe I", which is the name of the album and its only song, keeping the interest of the listener to the highest levels. I can assure you that, despite the fact that the album/song lasts around 52 minutes, you won't get bored, not for a single second. And this is where the genius of the band lies, they managed to master their instruments, ideas and inner emotions into one lengthy song that has everything, heavy atmosphere, inspired ideas, lachrymose and distressing emotions and wonderful instrument interpretation, making the entity of "Monolithe I" breathe and unleash its bitterest tears to the world.

"Monolithe I" is bitter, depressive, soul-crushing, heart-rending and beautiful at the same time, it imprisons you in a world of gentle grief and sorrow, where you lie bleeding willingly. Every single instrument taking part in the world of "Monolithe I" sounds stunning and unerring, with every member of the band pouring his soul to the atmosphere of the compositions. The guitars play a highly important role since the guitarists in the band are neither one nor two, but three. There are times that you hear to bombastic ultra heavy riffing from the one guitar and the others weave their deeply distressing and utterly depressive melodies with their painful sound as you find yourself dancing among razors. The keyboard melodies play an atmosphere-evoking role, making the overall aesthetic of Monolithe's music even more desperate with their devout yet doleful approach. The rhythm section (the drumming is programmed) lends its groove and dynamic sound to the overall sound of the band and makes it more imposing for sure. When the time comes to talk about the vocals I guess the name Richard Loudin (Despond) says a lot and he makes a soulful testimony in the vocal factor, whether he grunts in an unearthly deep grunting way or just recites in despondency.

Monolithe have become one of my favorite funeral doom acts and believe me, their funeral doom is highly inspired, atmospheric, deeply emotional and depressive. Don't miss them, just lose yourself in their own mournful world!