Monolithe – Black Hole District Review

[Cover Image by Guibz Zilla aka Torve]

There was a time, long ago, when the earth was very different. Oceans bubbled like cauldrons full of caesium at 301.7 degrees kelvin. Mountains shot forth through the crusty aspect of the circular earth globe. The heavens opened wide and poured forth lava, rain, and gaseous matter. Whatever amoeba-like creatures slithered and swam across the not-flat orb blind to the ways of mankind. (Mankind meaning human existence, not the wrestler.) But from that stewy goodness was birthed a fetus. And that fetus sprouted limbs and crawled from the stockpot of creation to inhabit the land. Lo! The species known as humans, homo sapiens, was born. And that’s pretty much what Monolithe is all about.

And also birthed eventually in the world was the genre of doom and the subgenre funeral doom. And it’s been a confusing ride. Many, many bands are labeled funeral doom when they are actually not funeral doom. Shocking, eh? First and foremost Mournful Congregation (mentioned for a reason) are likely more death/doom than funeral doom yet at times they are squarely funeral doom. The great question though, which was asked by the 7-month old fetus as it slithered from the stockpot of life slush, is, “does it matter?” The answer is squarely: no. Good music is good music is good music.

The point of that aside however was to bring to light the mash of styles and rebirth of sorts for Monolithe across their latest album Black Hole District which, admittedly, is not a great album title. With a new bassist, new vocalist, and a new keyboardist Monolithe certainly took a lot of risk altering 50% of its makeup (there are no fewer than six people in the band). And those risks absolutely pay off; particularly on the funeral doom passages as on “Sentience Amidst the Lights” and “On the Run to Nowhere.”

Further, the band has leveled up their intermission game using “They Wake us Up at Dusk,”  “Elusive Whispers,” “Suspicion” and “Benefit or Hazard,” and “Moonfall” to set the stage for the very literally ten-minute tracks that follow. It’s hard to assume the band accidentally wrote five tracks of ambient intermission that are exactly one-minute long and five tracks of funeral, death, and melodic doom that are exactly ten-minutes long by accident. And while the album tells a story (inspired by the movies and sci-fi whatever you’d expect) the mixing allows for almost no notice of the track separation. If Monolithe meant to make 55 a thing it could be because it’s considered an “angel number” or because it’s the atomic number of caesium (which has some fascinating uses), or because maybe the band hates Sammy Hagar and wanted to prove that they can drive 55.

Honestly, jokes and pomp aside Black Hole District sounds like the Monolithe people have been waiting for. The band has finally broken free of their scattered writing and put forth an album that sounds like a matinee version of an Esoteric album featuring a more melodic take on the genre. The clean vocals add a very, very welcome balance to the funeral doom, doom, melodic doom, death doom, and melodic / death doom across their previous works. Quentin Verdier’s addition to the band has truly transformed and focused the band that is now poised to launch headlong into the featured sections of doom festivals around the earth globe.

So join us to build a monolith to mankind and humanity and the future of our species and its endless success upon this orbiting circle and any other orbiting circle we eventually inhabit. We shall erect a monolith to Monolithe as they tread through reduced gravity as if laden with pockets full of croquet balls to expand and solidify their sound. Inhabit the futuristic shuttle as it hurdles forth out of this atmosphere and towards a future planet upon which humanity will be reborn in velvet and cashmere. It is the plodding of the doom that shall drive us.