Prior to this unveiling of the cover art for their new album, Honesty Integrity Friendship Passion, Belgian shenanigans-noisemakers 30,000 Monkies posted a dot-to-dot line-drawing version of the sweet-dohggy face that adorns its front for their listeners to fill in on their own. This is charm, in other words. To coincide with this, the four songs on the half-hour release offer pummel, abrasion, and chug, growing admirably massive on “Honesty” plays out before the more cinematic drone of “Integrity” leads to the big-shout heavy riffing of “Friendship,” a beast of a finishing wash and all, and “Passion” closes with 12 minutes of artful bombast, surrounding deeply weighted lumber with avant synthotronics, perhaps tying the disparate elements together as much as one could while reinforcing the message that, basically, screw you for wanting things to be tied up in the first place. Can’t argue.

Gonna get weird, this one.

No audio public from it yet — can’t have everything — but 2019’s Are Forever is streaming below, should you want to get caught up.

From the PR wire:

30,000 MONKIES – HONESTY INTEGRITY FRIENDSHIP PASSION

Pre-order of the LP:
https://30000monkies.bandcamp.com/album/honesty-integrity-friendship-passion

Pre-order from Consouling Sounds:

CD: https://store.consouling.be/products/honesty-integrity-friendship-passion-cd
LP: https://store.consouling.be/products/honesty-integrity-friendship-passion-vinyl

Belgian experimental metal band, 30,000 Monkies have consistently been unleashing cathartic noise avalanches in live venues across Europe. Consouling Sounds is happy to announce the upcoming LP from Beringen-based collective – HONESTY INTEGRITY FRIENDSHIP PASSION. Commenting on the nature or writing and concepts, Michiel De Naegel admits: “It might seem like a pre-planned concept album, but it really isn’t. The title comes from Lil B’s lecture that took place in New York city in 2012.” – while the rap-artist was referring to a positivistic idea, talking about kindness, Lil B had summed up the concept with four words only: honesty, integrity, friendship and passion.

Guitarist/vocalist, Ruben Savelkoul explains the value of the words saying: “This sequence of words has been living in our minds since then. We kept thinking about doing something with it and finally decided to write the music to fit these words. In the end we wrote a song for each individual word, sonically and thematically inspired by it.”

Both members stress – despite the emotional quality of Lil B’s worldview, the songs are not necessarily representations of it. On HONESTY INTEGRITY FRIENDSHIP PASSION, 30,000 Monkies celebrates some core human values the only way they know how: with a banquet of festive sludge metal, droning guitars and an ambient palate cleanser.

Release: September, the 30th
Genres: Noise-rock, Sludge
Label: Consouling Sounds
Format: LP, CD, digital

Tracklist:
1. Honesty
2. Integrity
3. Friendship
4. Passion

“We started out with the idea of one long song in four chapters, fitting the vibes for the title we already had in mind.” – stresses Ruben. The intention to write really diverse and contrasting songs, fitting each title evolved. The situation that became both comfortable and productive for the band led to what they describe as “a DIY approach”. 30,000 Monkies “ourselves” used to control the process entirely. Except for the mastering work. “By “ourselves” I mean Ruben (singer, guitarist) recorded and mixed it in his own ‘FVN KVLT’ Studio, which was sadly demolished right after we finished the recordings.” – the freedom the band got in this situation allowed them to work on the arrangements and songwriting all along the way of making HONESTY INTEGRITY FRIENDSHIP PASSION.

Four songs with a mind of their own, boldly moving in different directions while still clearly being part of the ever expanding 30,000 Monkies universe. It’s brutally honest, joyously anthemic, grandly spacious, and above all: a well-meant punch in the feels. It’s an ode to a Lil’ B with warm ideas.

“We never really have a ‘fixed’ approach.” – describes Michiel. What started with the intention to create contrasting songs, fitting with each title led to various changes on the arrangements and approaches. Experimenting with sounds 30,000 Monkies created “Integrity”. “While all the twists and turns of ‘Honesty’ were meticulously planned before recording – ‘Passion’ is a solo-endeavor by Ruben, relying heavily on slowly droning, overdubbed guitars, synths and autotune vocals. ‘Friendship’ was (fittingly) the most collaborative songwriting effort we ever did as a band, trying to get the dynamics right in a live setting before we started recording.”

For the past years, 30,000 Monkies have been stalwarts of the Belgian noise rock scene. ‘Somewhere Over The Painbow’ to ‘Are Forever’, is stuffed with pounds of suave sludge and riffs that sound like a zillion champagne corks popping all at once. HONESTY INTEGRITY FRIENDSHIP PASSION continues the tradition of making every next release better and better. Loud and luxurious, sticking out like a stockbroker in corpse paint, it became the newest mark in the history of 30,000 Monkies (who send you their greetings from atop the twisted metallic throne of Rock ).

https://www.facebook.com/30000monkies/
http://30000monkies.bandcamp.com/
http://vi.be/30000monkies
https://www.champagnemetal.com/
https://linktr.ee/30000monkies

https://www.facebook.com/ConsoulingSounds
https://www.instagram.com/consouling/
https://twitter.com/consouling
https://store.consouling.be/

30,000 Monkies, Are Forever (2019)

Desertfest Belgium 2019, as noted just the other day, is getting pretty close to its final lineup, and as they do, they’re making sure they support the native Belgian scene with a number of acts being highlighted for the broader audience they’ll draw. Both Fire Down Below and The Progerians might be familiar to some who’ll hit up Antwerp this October, and 30,000 Monkies have been making the rounds of festivals, but Vonnis, Grotto and Crayon Sun are probably going to be new to most people who show up, and so all the better they’re getting a showcase at an event like Desertfest. Of course, the broader lineup isn’t short on big names, with Sleep and Pelican, Bongripper and Zeal & Ardor, etc., so there should be plenty of draw to get heads in front of the stage for these bands, and it’s among the most admirable things an international fest can do to shine a light on the local types. You know this already, but it’s worth saying.

The PR wire has it like this:

BELGIAN BANDS AT DESERTFEST BELGIUM 2019!

Each year at DF Antwerp, we present you with a number of upcoming local acts that deserve to shine in front of our esteemed international crowd. Absolute bosses, each and every one of them!

Fire Down Below have been making waves in the worldwide stoner community from day one, drawing comparisons to anything from Kyuss to Red Fang to Soundgarden. Likewise, The Progerians from Brussels have built a steady reputation for their uncompromising yet fiercely exciting mix of punk anthems and sludge stomp.

Some leftfield choices that are bound to raise heads: VONNIS – sheer brutality poured into a Molotov cocktail of hardcore, grind and noise. On the flipside we have Crayon Sun, the new project of Aldo Struyf (Millionnaire, Mark Lanegan Band) and the Antwerp blues singer Big Dave.

We already announced the merry noise pranksters of 30,000 Monkies earlier this year, and we close off this chauvinist list with a fine slab of supreme instrumental spacerock, courtesy of Grotto.

Go forth and check out these great bands!

http://www.desertfest.be/tickets
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.facebook.com/events/2260579413999993/

Vonnis, Bikini Season (2019)

Even as the first-ever Desertfest New York gets ready to roll out next week and Desertfest London and Berlin prepare to follow soon thereafter, the autumnal incarnation, Desertfest Belgium 2019, has begun to unveil its lineup for this October. They had their work cut out for them in topping the 2018 lineup, but let’s face it, if you’re going to do that, announcing Sleep as a headliner right out of the gate is probably the way to go. It’s like, “Oh, well, that settles that, then. This’ll rule.” Not that the reunited Truckfighters, Monomyth, Temple Fang or even 30,000 Monkies are anything to sneeze at, but let’s face it, you don’t announce Sleep first unless you’re trying to make an impression. Mission accomplished. Impression made.

This of course will be the first of many Desertfest Belgium 2019 announcements, and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if by the time October gets here, Desertfest London and Berlin are back revealing their respective lineups for 2020. The cycle is ongoing. Cyclical, you might say.

Here’s word from Antwerp:

The moment you have all been waiting for! The first thing we can tell you about DFBE ’19 is that YES, your prayers have been answered. The Mighty Sleep will be headlining our Fest this year!

Of course, that’s just the first of many names. We are equally delighted to welcome back Truckfighters and the cosmic Monomyth to our stage. For more Northern heavy pysch grooves, look no further than Temple Fang. And finally, we want to introduce you to the first Belgian homebrew act for this year’s Fest: 30,000 Monkies.

And with that, the ticket sale is ON! Reduced Combi Tickets are available for a limited time only for €100, all costs included. We have also brought back the Hotel Accommodation deal, find the details on our website. Be swift to avoid disappointment, go get them tickets!

http://www.desertfest.be/tickets
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.facebook.com/events/2260579413999993/
https://twitter.com/DesertfestBE

Sleep, “Sonic Titan” live at Roadburn 2019

Hope you like parentheses, because Belgian noisewashers 30,000 Monkies — also stylized as 3((0)),((0))((0))((0)) M((O))NKIES — have plenty on offer. The four-piece first issued their Watch the Drone — aka Watch the Dr((o))ne, naturally — back in 2011, but the multispectrum effects onslaught has been newly pressed to tape courtesy of Tartarus Records. After this and a couple other EP-type releases, 30,000 Monkies put out their first full-length album, I Ate Myself to Grow Twice as Big this past Spring via Consouling Sounds. If you’re up for getting freaked out, it’s all streaming on Bandcamp.

Tapes are hot pink and limited to 100 copies. From the PR wire:

TAR057 3((0)),((0))((0))((0)) M((O))NKIES – WATCH THE DR((O))NE

“Welcome, welcome, welcome children!” His smile hid his bile. These sentences had been repeated so many times, that to feel actual joy was impossible. It was numbness that drove him on, a constant, hovering grey which never ceased.

Surrounded by the garishly coloured fetters, the clasping happiness of the young, a tiny spark lifted his spirits. A fire was lit, if you will. His eyes shone brightly, as the plan hatched. A sign of what life is would inspire many present, right? Their lives would be illuminated by his death!Yes!
Boffo smiled his first sincere smile in years. Tomorrow, the arena would be coloured brighter still.”

But this is not the same thing.

3((0)),((0))((0))((0)) M((O))NKIES is the new dronemetal/ambient project by 30,000 Monkies. It’s XL on almost every level: longer, louder, heavier, more cheerful, more uplifting and… bigger.

Live they’ll be accompanied by some friends to form a fierce, 7-headed, rainbow coloured puppy that will riff you silly and leave you behind with a warm, loving smile, buried in tons of confetti.

Now, for those who missed the mystery tape: This tape will see an actual release again!

Edition of 100 hot pink tapes
Housed in a diecut cardstock case

https://www.facebook.com/30000monkies/
http://30000monkies.bandcamp.com/album/watch-the-dr-o-ne
http://vi.be/30000monkies
http://tartarusrecords.com/album/watch-the-dr-o-ne
https://www.facebook.com/TartarusRecords

30,000 Monkies, Watch the Drone (2016)