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MONOLITHE
Nebula Septem

Les Acteurs de l’Ombre Productions (2018)
Rating: 8/10

Ya gotta give it to this bunch of morose French men. Monolithe have been churning out some great, dark metal since 2003, beginning life with a more funereal essence but over time evolving into a bestial, sludge-ridden deathly doom act.

Nebula Septem is the seventh release from this prolific troupe which once again wondrously crafts together a collection of songs which all run at the exact same running time of seven minutes. And within each track we find ourselves drawn in to an infernal black, and yet at times cosmic void that billows great plumes of galactic smoke, otherworldly fire and deadly drudgery.

Slow, cumbersome passages are laced with gleaming sparks of melody. Progressive rock somehow leaks into the fray only to be batted away by the deathly grunts of new vocalist Rémi Brochard. His guttural tone is wonderfully at one with the driving sound behind him; a palatial and spatial vacuum of spaced-out gloominess.

Opener ‘Anechoic Aberration’ is one vast landscape of engaging keyboards which litter humungous passages of aching, but never truly abysmal funereality. Thibault Faucher’s steady percussive nod sew together this vast expanse of doominess as Olivier Defives’s bass tumbles and weaves its way through the extra-terrestrial mire. Yes, it’s heavy but somehow light on its feet too; nimble morbidity that exudes an air of arrogance as a bleak solo penetrates the smog.

A black metal iciness somehow escaping from some parallel void leaks into proceedings too, in turn providing a frosty glare as ‘Burst In The Event Horizon’ comes lumbering into view upon a backbone of melancholic guitar drain and drum plod. The vocal grunts and growls add extra meat to this already heaving beast of a record; the grim, guttural narration a commanding colossal presence by which the cosmic instrumentation is led by.

Pace is certainly a rare commodity in this interstellar void. Well-constructed drum slogs provide a suspenseful atmosphere for the hulking grace of ‘Coil Shaped Volutions’ and ‘Delta Scuti’ – the latter being a gargantuan trudge – but both still follow that same drawn-out pattern of despair as the guitars whine through the drone.

My personal favourite track, however, has to be ‘Engineering The Rip’ with its peculiarly eerie beginning and catchy chords of despair, and of all the tracks it’s probably the most sprightly. But don’t get carried away, we’re not talking about joyous jigs here. This is still an incredibly heavy and slow composition, but it’s one that leads us just to the side of that expected celestial toil and also provides us with a thrilling climax.

But whichever soundscape you choose to immerse yourself in, each one provides a glorious blend of depressive weight and astronomic ash as each yawning noise is tinged with intelligent flecks and strands personified with the closing strains of ‘Gravity Flood’; an interesting instrumental peppered with some superb guitar work, almost hinting at some extravagant 70s prog rock indulgence.

And that’s the beauty of Monolithe. A band with a fine eye for the elegant, the exquisite and the ethereal, and yet all wrapped up within a foggy, cold shroud of gloom.

Neil Arnold

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