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/:: Artist :: Monolith ::\
:: Album :: Dystopia ::
:: Year :: 2014 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Final Gate Records R.date :: 18.08.2014 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: FGR009 Size :: 75,1 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.98.4 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 258kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website :: http://www.finalgaterecords.com/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Won't Come Down 03:36 ::
:: 02. Cosmic Fairy 04:32 ::
:: 03. Hole 04:58 ::
:: 04. Dystopia 06:58 ::
:: 05. Acid Rain 05:42 ::
:: 06. Sleepless Eyes 05:40 ::
:: 07. Rainbow 09:02 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 40:28 min ..
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: MONOLITH are a Doom Metal band, formed in 2010 in Bremen, ::
:: Germany. For those of you who dig early BLACK SABBATH, ::
:: PENTAGRAM, SLEEP, and similar bands, thereÆs a lot to like ::
:: on ôDystopia,ö the groupÆs debut effort for Final Gate ::
:: Records. Now, IÆm generally not a fan of bands whose styles ::
:: are way too indebted to their inspirations, but I find this ::
:: easier to overlook when itÆs done right. MONOLITH, who draw ::
:: heavily from the aforementioned groups, do a great job ::
:: capturing the sound and atmosphere of early Doom Metal with ::
:: this strong group of songs. ::
:: ::
:: It takes less than a minute through opening track ôWonÆt ::
:: Come Downö to gather who the main influence is here. ItÆs ::
:: uncanny how much like Ozzy Osbourne Ralf BrummerlohÆs voice ::
:: sounds, complimented by chunky guitar riffs of Ron ::
:: Osenbrueck and Andre DittmanÆs jazz-inspired drumming. The ::
:: lyrics are one of the albumÆs strongest points. As ::
:: derivative as the album can sound musically, especially ::
:: considering BrummerlohÆs vocal delivery, itÆs hard to ::
:: dislike the churning, heavy Blues of songs like ôCosmic ::
:: Fairy,ö the gritty, catchy ôHole,ö and the sludgy ôAcid ::
:: Rain.ö The down-tuned, high-reverb guitars and thick, ::
:: prominent bass create that kind-of æwall of soundÆeffect ::
:: associated with this particular style of music, but the ::
:: instruments arenÆt too muddy-sounding to enjoy individually ::
:: from each other. The feedback/gain isnÆt too excessive so ::
:: as to obscure anything, which is great because each of the ::
:: band members gives a strong performance throughout ::
:: ôDystopia.ö OsenbrueckÆs electrifying, wailing leads on ::
:: songs like ôSleepless Eyesö and the excellent title track ::
:: are like the icing on top of his heavy riffing, and ::
:: BrummerlohÆs thumping bass fills out the bandÆs heavy sound ::
:: very well. ôSleepless Eyesö is another song with some ::
:: great, dark, bluesy riffing and a ton of attitude, as is ::
:: the closing jam ôRainbow,ö the albumÆs longest song by far. ::
:: The track works at a crawling pace, with lengthy, distorted ::
:: guitar midsection, without sounding like it drags on for ::
:: too long, and is a fitting track to end the album. ::
:: ::
:: Some people will probably have trouble getting into this ::
:: album because of how unabashedly BLACK SABBATH it sounds. ::
:: However, from what IÆve read, the band intended ôDystopiaö ::
:: to be this kind of 70s-sounding record from the onset, and ::
:: the songs are legitimately good. To me, the fact that one ::
:: could easily mistake this album for one by BLACK SABBATH ::
:: says as much about the quality of the music as it does ::
:: about the similar sound, which the band pulls off without ::
:: sounding too much like copycats. Besides, theyÆd hardly be ::
:: the first Metal band on the planet to owe a debt to the ::
:: SABBATH in one way or another; theirs is just more obvious ::
:: than most. ôDystopiaö probably wonÆt win MONOLITH a ton of ::
:: points for originality, but itÆs still a solid album. IÆd ::
:: recommend this to fans of Doom/Stoner Metal, or any kind of ::
:: heavy Rock in general. ::
:: ::
:: http://www.metal-temple.com/ ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
\: :. \\ ___________ . ___________ // .: :/
__\____ :: ____ ___\ _ / BERC : 2014 \ _ /___ ____ :: ____/__
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