Posted in Features on November 16th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
It has been an exceedingly busy year for Monolord. The Gothenburg trio released their second album, Vænir (review here), through RidingEasy Records as the follow-up to 2014’s incredibly well-received Empress Rising debut, and from there, they haven’t really stopped. A tour in Europe led up to the album’s release and also found them following it with an appearance at Roadburn in the Netherlands, and they did sundry other dates this past summer before making a stop at Desertfest Belgium en route to the US for their first tour in North America, supporting Windhand and Danava on an ambitious cross-country run of the major markets that included a slot at Night of the Shred in Southern California.
Really, since Empress Rising was plonked down on riff-hungry skulls like so much edible concrete, Monolord have worked quickly and fiercely to make a name for themselves. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Thomas Jäger, bassist Mika Häkki and drummer/recording engineer Esben Willems, they clearly knew what they wanted to start from sound-wise on the first record and had ideas they wanted to develop working off that for the second, but also, in practical as well as creative terms, they seem to be very much on the same page in terms of what kind of work they’re going to put in and what that’s going to look like in terms of their overall plans. Monolord‘s ascent is not an accident. True, it wouldn’t be possible if the albums didn’t resonate, but they have not sat around and let acclaim come to them. They have gone out and hand-delivered their pummel door to door.
With performances already confirmed for 2016 at Desertfest in London and Berlin, Freak Valley in Germany and Hellfest in France, as well as other tours in the theoretical stages, it looks like that will very much continue to be the case as they move beyond Vænir and toward a crucial third full-length. As they move toward wrapping the dates with Windhand and Danava, it seemed only fair to check in with the band and get an update on how the shows have been, their impressions from life on the road in North America as opposed to Europe, and what 2016 might hold for them past what’s been confirmed publicly. Willems — whose patience in waiting for me to have three minutes to put together a list of questions for an email Q&A was very much appreciated — was kind enough to take time out to fill us in.
Please find the full interview after the jump, and thanks for reading.
Posted in Reviews on March 26th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
As slow as some of their riffs are, heads have turned correspondingly fast toward Swedish tone constructionists Monolord. They leave little mystery as to why. Their 2014 debut, Empress Rising, garnered vast attention with its onslaught of riffs and volume-as-ritual appeal, and their sophomore outing, titled Vænir after the largest lake in Sweden an released, like the first LP, by RidingEasy Records, is sure to follow suit. Comprised of six tracks that offer minimal variance from the band’s central ethic of earth-moving low end and buried-deep watery vocals, Vænir taps into a kind of neo-primitivism in stoner-doom riffing. The point is that it should be overwhelming, and there are times where it is. With elements repurposed from the likes of Sleep, Electric Wizard, a keyboard-less Ufomammut, and even some of YOB‘s spacious minimalism in a midsection break on Vænir‘s closing title-track, the Gothenburg three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Thomas V. Jäger, drummer Esben Willems and bassist Mika Häkki conjure a sound that’s at once simplistic and increasingly easy to see as their own, pushing into deep, chest-vibrating rumble while keeping enough of a handle on their songwriting as to make Vænir a memorable experience for more than the impact factor. That’s not to take away from that either, however. Primarily, the impression Vænir leaves is like a flag planted on a holy mountain, Monolord staking a claim on a time-honored ritual of volume and sonic excess. It is heavy, in other words. Very heavy. It knows it’s heavy and it knows that heaviness is something worth celebrating. By the time the explosive opener “Cursing the One” is through with its nine-minute rollout, arguing against it seems futile.
There is a large difference between those who worship heaviness and those engaged in building their own temple of it, and to Monolord‘s credit, they seem engaged in the latter, poised toward the development of an individual sensibility within a tricky host of familiar impressions. As much as Vænir‘s tones could be heard as a godsend for heads itching for that ever-elusive (until you look) next nod, the real miracle of the album is that it doesn’t collapse under its own weight. Häkki‘s bass and Willems‘ drums are essential to this, as they manage to keep a song like “Cursing the One” or its more open, loose-swinging follow-up, “We Will Burn,” together, but the atmospheric effect of the vocals, awash in effects and universally deep in the mix — purposefully obscured — isn’t to be understated. Not only does the placement of Jäger‘s voice give it the opportunity to slice through the wall of distortion created by the guitar and bass, which it does effectively throughout Vænir, but it makes the whole thing sound even bigger and otherworldly. “We Will Burn” shifts into Conan-esque rolling groove in its back half, finishing by hammering down a stonerly-headbanger of a riff that leads into the classic-styled intro of “Nuclear Death,” which sets up a comfortable mid-pace push with wraparound drum fills and a crashes only to pull the rug out from the whole thing as it approaches its fourth minute. A thudding slowdown is met by a watery verse and grueling solo, and while the pace is revived somewhat with a kick-in from Willems, the impression is made. “Nuclear Death” would seem about as far into the abyss as Vænir wants to go, but in truth, it’s really just the beginning of the album’s next stage.
The first of two cuts on Vænir to top 10 minutes, “Died a Million Times” is the most landmark hook included, and Monolord put it to good use. Its opening minutes set a quicker tempo, and before a line of vocals arrive, the song is already catchy, a stoner bounce counteracted by the fact that it should be too heavy to even get off the ground. It does though, and a quick verse leads to the chorus, which plays off the title line to particularly memorable effect — as much as Vænir has a signature moment that summarizes what the record is about, “Died a Million Times” is it. Verse and chorus cycle through again and a stop leaves just Jäger‘s guitar to act as a bed for a sample from the 1960 film adaptation of H.G. Wells‘ The Time Machine, Häkki‘s bass coming in shortly before the captured lines, “I don’t much care for the time I was born into/It seems people aren’t dying fast enough these days,” signal a return for Willems and full-tonal burst, leading to a combined solo and final chorus that crashes to an end with rumble and amp noise to carry it out, leading into the two-minute interlude-plus of “The Cosmic Silence,” a sort of “Planet Caravan”-meets-“Paint it Black” progression where the guitar and percussion are as obscure as the vocals have been all along. It’s a stylistic turn that fits well where it is but is perhaps late in arriving — I don’t know what it would do to the vinyl structure to have something similar, or different for that matter, earlier in the album too — though its purpose seems to be as much to allow some recovery between “Died a Million Times” and “Vænir” as to establish its own quiet, serene psychedelic vibe. Ultimately, it succeeds in both, and when “Vænir” kicks in, its slow, crushing churn feels all the more weighted for the lead-in. “Vænir” breaks roughly into three movements: the early plod, the spaceout and the final jam.
Of those (and yes, it’s a simplified categorization), the middle spaceout probably adds the most to the context of Vænir overall. The lumbering initial progression and the well-rode capper reaffirm a lot of what has worked all along on the record, but its in that expansive soundscape of guitar that the closer really establishes its own dynamic, following impulses that have, again, been there the whole time, but reinterpreting them similarly to how Monolord has successfully taken the lessons of their key influences and used them to create something new from them. A relatively new band (formed in 2013) of experienced players, the chemistry between Jäger, Häkki and Willems is markedly developed even for a sophomore outing, but there’s a sense that Vænir isn’t the sum total of what Monolord have to offer stylistically. That is to say, while their sound has been well established over their first two albums, the trio has also still left themselves open avenues for progression should they choose to pursue them. Whether they will and what shape their evolution will continue to take is anyone’s best guess, but with Vænir, they effectively demonstrate that Empress Rising was no fluke and that their intention is to leave a footprint befitting the deep heft they bring to bear across these songs.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 11th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Swedish trio Monolord demolished brains with last year’s RidingEasy Records debut, Empress Rising, and their second album, dubbed Vænir after Sweden’s largest lake, is due to arrive in April. They’ll appear at this year’s Roadburn that month, and before then, they’ve got a tour that starts next week alongside their labelmates in Salem’s Pot that’s bound to offer no shortage of riffage and volume as it storms across Western Europe and the UK. I’d expect more dates to come. If demand and the quick turnaround between their two records is anything to go by, Monolord are just getting started.
The PR wire keeps us up to date:
MONOLORD return with new album Vænir | UK & European Tour Dates with Salem’s Pot
Initially formed as a side project in 2013 out of the ashes of Swedish bands Marulk and Rotten Sound – comprising of guitar player and vocalist Thomas Jäger, drummer Esben Willems and bassist Mika Häkki – Monolord emerged as one of 2014’s heaviest, loudest and best-loved breakout bands.
So for those left dumbfounded by the heady mix of mania and tinnitus that came free with the Gothenburg trio’s impressive debut album, the suggestion that this year could see an improvement of any kind might seem impossible to believe. Empress Rising was not just lauded over; many believed it raised the bar for the genre with its doom-metal powered by psychedelic grooves, immense heaviness and cosmic cohesion marking it out instantly for cult classic status.
This April however Monolord return to unleash Vænir. Named after the biggest lake in Sweden, the overall effect of this eagerly awaited album can only be described as vast. Colossal in fact, with the only true metric of certainty being at forty-eight minutes long, across six epic tracks (including the recently released single ‘Cursing The One’) Vænir has the power to level everything it its path.
Vænir by Monolord will be released on 28th April 2015 via RidingEasy Records. For fans looking to experience the sheer power of the band live, Monolord take to the road this February across Europe with fellow Swedes and RidingEasy label mates Salem’s Pot. (See dates below.)
Tour Dates:
Feb 18th – KB18 (Copenhagen, Denmark) Feb 19th – Kufa Löseke (Hildesheim, Germany) Feb 20th – Merleyn (Nijmegen, Netherlands) Feb 21st – Vera (Groningen, Netherlands) Feb 22nd – Het Bos (Antwerpen, Belgium) Feb 24th – The Library (Leeds, UK) Feb 25th – The Black Heart (London, UK) Feb 26th – Glazart (Paris, France) Feb 27th – Heretic Club (Bordeaux, France) Feb 28th – Sala Sonora (Erandio, Spain) Mar 1st – Wurlitzer Ballroom (Madrid, Spain) Mar 2nd – RockSound (Barcelona, Spain) Mar 3rd – The Black Sheep (Montpellier, France) Mar 5th – Arena (Vienna, Austria) Mar 6th – P.M.K. (Innsbruck, Austria) Mar 7th – TBA (Munich, Germany) Mar 8th – Alma (Leipzig, Germany) Mar 21st – Kulturhuset Bastionen (Uddevalla, Sweden) Apr 9th – Roadburn Festival (Tilburg, Netherlands) Apr 10th – Crystal (Berlin, Germany) Jul 10th – Lo-Fi (Milan, Italy) Jul 11th – Stick And Stone Fest (Nikolsdorf, Austria) Aug 14th – Leper Hardcore Fest (Leper, Belgium)
