Band: MONOLITHE
Country: France
Title: Nebula Septem
Label: Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions
Year: 2018
Style: Atmospheric Doom Metal
Review:
7 members offering on their 7th full-length album 7 new tracks, each lasting for 7 straight minutes, if that's not careful (if not even compulsory) planning, I don't know what is. After a pretty long stay with Debemur Morti, Monolithe changed home and this is their first result from their new collaboration with Les Acteurs de l'Ombre. Mostly slow paced (obviously), with enough mid-tempo incursions to keep things interesting even for fans outside of the Doom Death spectrum, the music on this new album is deeply atmospheric, spacial, building vast but at the same time somehow oppressive and claustrophobic soundscapes along the way, with plenty of variation and fresh ideas on the instrumental part to make me think there could have been more versatility for the vocal part as well as it sounds quite one dimensional. Although not copying anything, Monolithe's music made me think of a mix between Paradise Lost (especially on guitars) and the UK based Mithras, although far from being that brutal. The guitar work is the main focus here, but the keyboard harmonies and effects are enhancing the overall experience and the bass lines and drumming are also something to discover and digest carefully, both instruments bringing serious contribution to the technical, almost progressive facet of this album. If I were to describe this album in 3 words I'd say: oppressive, spatial and intricate.
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 8.5/10