Monolith Grows! - Interregnum EP (2020)
Running two tracks on vinyl, and three
in digital form, this EP is the latest from Monolith Grows!, whom we
last checked in on back in 2015. Back then, they were still going by
just 'Monolith', and had released their Even More album. With this new release, the Italian group have assembled some
deeply enjoyable and surprisingly hooky tunes to lift your spirits in
the tumult of 2020, with All Right Riserva Recordz picking it up for release.
First
up is “Nicolas Cage”, a rumbling cruiser working off of a solid
riff, with a blend of heavy rock and stoner metal flavors keeping it
fun while digging into gnarly grooves. The extensive cymbal-bashing
helps with that lightening of the tone, while the vocals rock on in a
nice fusion of modern and retro stylings. There's plenty of
energy, and the twists taken by the melodic direction lift it above
much of the output that's come through in comparable heavy music
lately.
“Nicolas Kim Coppola”, the
digital-exclusive track, can be heard as something of a reworking of
the first, operating from a similar groove, but dropping the cymbal
prominence somewhat, leading to a more grounded run that lets the
guitar's tone come through better. It's also about a minute shorter
overall, and ends on a fade-out, giving the impression of a 'radio
edit', wherever there's radio stations cool enough to play this.
Lastly, “Shade and Sleep” fades
back up into a cool drum-and-guitar exchange, before the guitar takes
it solo to heat things into the main ride. The heavy rock takes a
bit more of a turn into yesteryear's dynamics here, with the bass
strings allowed to rattle just a bit, injecting some hang-loose cool
into the vibrant head-banging energy they let loose. Loaded with
still more twist-ups and break-downs, it brings the EP to a
victorious close, pumping out enough energy to make listeners wanna
cycle right back to the start for another go. The band describes the
EP as being a shift into more acid rock territory, and judging by the
quality they've put on display here, their upcoming album (currently
scheduled for 2021) will be a true treat, packed with creativity and
indelible hooks. As of this review's writing, there are still vinyl
copies of the Interregnum EP available, but you'll need to
move fast to snag one, as only fifteen are left.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Craneon,
Lint, Monocluster, Mother Mars, RHINO (Italy)
~
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