Monolith - Voyager (2013)

For bands, artistic growth can often be like walking a tightrope.  If you have developed a distinctive soundscape or style, modifying that sound too much can often mean alienating fans.  Not modifying it enough means stagnating artistically, or sounding as though you're trying to replicate a successful formula, usually with diminishing returns.  The most balanced approach is to develop nuances and variations within the style to expand its range, while keeping the core of the style present so as to retain a commonality from album to album.  This common thread serves as a link between releases, while allowing the artist to continue to develop and grow, and for the overall sound to change in some fashion from one record to the next.  Monolith has the dubious position of following up their excellent debut, but are they up to the task?  I'd say emphatically yes!  There are elements of the band's sound that seem to have changed to meet the requirements of the new material, but the core of what makes Monolith what they are is still present.  The band still plays a tight combination of symphonically informed melodic death metal, metalcore and "extreme metal", combining a growled vocal and melodic/sung vocal approach, they still have a chunky guitar sound with catchy riffs, and still have the songwriting chops to pull it off.

The biggest change on display here is in the cleanly sung vocals. No longer are they handled by guitarist and songwriter Colin Parrish - now all vocals are handled exclusively by vocalist Mike Gallant.  Gone are the highly processed clean vocals, and in its place are a similar vocal approach that at first, doesn't sound that much different than what Colin brought to the table, but with more range and emotion present due to the vocals not being so "effected" in nature.  Also noticeable is that there is a bit less emphasis on the split between the symphonic elements, and those that are overtly "keyboard sounding".  The other thing I noted relatively quickly was that the level of aggression in the riffing and sound seemed a bit subdued as compared with the debut, in part because the songwriting here is slightly more varied in some aspects, using more build-up and melodic intro passages, or because the riffs aren't quite as staccato as those on the debut.  As I said, however, it's still quite recognizable as Monolith, for anyone who is familiar with the debut.

Colin Parrish's guitar still crunches nicely here as it did on the debut, with a good combination of heaviness and clarity.  The guitar sound is a touch less dense this time around, but the underlying bass provides enough weight to compensate.  Colin employs more solo work this time around, so I'm guessing the change in tone was necessary for a bit of clarity's sake.  Speaking of solo work, I'm glad to see Colin branching out in this direction more, as I highlighted that as something I'd like more when I wrote the review for their debut.  I also like that he does more than just a few short bits here and there, but he cuts loose a time or two and it comes off well.  Bass by Mike Gallant is quality, with a nice combination of thumping and galloping, providing both the necessary extra emphasis to the music, but doing enough to not just sound like a piece of the backdrop.  Colin Nafziger once again brings tasteful drumming to the table, employing double-bass when it makes sense, and going for a more groove-oriented or mid-paced take when the song calls for it.  There are some nice flourishes here and there that aren't flashy or too overt, but just little cymbal bits, fills or transitions that are just nice.

Vocally, Mike is in good form.  His growls continue to be powerful, yet understandable, with that mid-range tonality that works well with their sound.  Mike's clean vocals are an interesting counterpoint to the growled vocals, and often come off understated and muted compared to the growls.  I also like the group-shouted vocals in "Endurance", as I think they accent the song appropriately.  Lyrically, the band is a bit more obtuse this time around, using somewhat less obvious themes of Christianity, and mixing in some mythology and history, as well as songs that have faith at the core, but where the lyrics take a more subtle approach.  I like the slightly more personal approach, and I applaud the band for stepping out of the obvious topics and into some interesting lyrical material.  The way the lyrics are written versus the phrasing that Mike uses at times is also used to interesting effect, as things aren't always sung (or growled) the way you'd expect them to be when reading them off the page, so that makes for a nice change.  I also like the whispered vocal during one brief spot in "Desolation", which is a nice touch.

The thing about the debut that I miss is that it was a bit heavier overall, but honestly, the two records aren't all that different in terms of the balance between crunch and melodicism.  Mike's clean vocals change the sound enough to be noticeable, but not so much that it distracts or detracts from the experience.  There is use of more extended intros on tracks like "Onslaught" and "Desolation", as well as the use of a "faux vocal" in "Initiation" that give additional flavor to the album where the debut was a bit more straight-forward.  "Voyager" is a worthy follow-up to the debut, and improves upon its predecessor enough to say the band is growing, even if some of the impact of the debut is lost in the additional elements present.  Still, I think this is the appropriate direction for the band to go, and where I think their sound was most likely to have evolved to after the debut.  As before, I'd like to see Mr. Parrish continue to hone his guitar skill and give us more solo work, and would love to see the band expand the range of material so there are even greater contrasts between heavier, faster & more frenzied spots, and those of a more mid-tempo, melodic, "hooky" nature.  As it stands, an excellent follow-up, and because it's free to download, fans of the band and of the style have zero excuse not to check it out.  Highly recommended.

90/100

This album can be downloaded in its entirety directly from the band's website:
http://www.monolith2012.com/

Monolith - Monolith (2010)

It's a sad thing when talent goes under the radar due to lack of exposure or an over-crowded art scene.  All too often, talented musicians go unnoticed because the ones that hog the limelight, though often talented themselves, are taking up too much of the public consciousness.  It's not the popular artist's fault most of the time, because that's just how things work out based on promotion, and being in the right place at the right time.  At least in current times, with the advent of the Internet for self-promotion and distribution, it's possible to overcome that in small measures.  I'm hopeful that Monolith seizes the opportunity to do so, because there's a definite talent at work here.

Monolith is a 3-piece band based out of Ontario, Canada.  They play a highly melodic, symphonic style of extreme metal.  While this kind of thing isn't new by any means, the way the band executes their particular brand of symphonic extreme metal is interesting and highly listenable.  Some bands of this style get bogged down in overblown arrangements, lack of songwriting ability, or too heavy a slant in one direction or another (in terms of how they balance the elements of their style).  Monolith suffers from none of these shortcomings, and their debut shows they not only have great command of the style, but the songwriting is quite adept, showing maturity in melodic sensibility, arrangement, and balancing the heaviness required for this style with the catchiness one might expect from a band far less heavy in sound.  The 12 tracks contained herein represent a very strong debut album that puts the band in a very good spot to get their name out there among the bigger names in the industry.


At its core, the Monolith sound is constructed of melodic death metal, but it's really so much more than that.  Indeed, there are times here when their sound barely meets the requirements of said style, while other times they embrace those aesthetics and capture that sound more completely.  The symphonic elements put the band above and beyond many in the "melodeath" camp by giving such a layered feel to the material that many melodic death metal bands simply can't match in terms of sheer melodicism and "fullness" of the sound.  The bands use of dynamics is also strong here, knowing when to fully pummel the listener with heaviness and aural intensity, and when to pull back to sparser riffs and arrangements to let the songs "breathe" a bit, giving the listener a more varied experience.  This maturity in songwriting is at once surprising and refreshing, given the short list of recognizable bands these guys have been in.


Guitar work here by Colin Parrish is excellent, with chunky riffing, melodic solo work, dual-guitar leads sprinkled throughout, and plenty of catchy melodic lines.  While Colin isn't the finest guitarist in the scene, he does a good job of showcasing his talent for melodicism and his knack for driving riffs that help propel the songs forward.  Drumming by Colin Nafziger is quite good, with mostly sub-blastbeat drumming and some interesting fills and things going on here and there.  Double-bass work isn't flashy, but is appropriate for the songs, and his sense of implementing drum fills and rhythms that fit into the songs is on display here.  Bass by Mike Gallant is also strong, with a bit more presence in the mix besides just being backbeat.  Bass guitar isn't as instantly audible as in some less "dense" metal, but he does a good job of providing the necessary "weight" underneath the guitar, and complementing the songs while not showboating.  Colinl Parrish also provides all the keyboard work and symphonic elements.  These bits contrast each other nicely by having very overt, obvious keyboard sounds alongside synthesized-yet-realistic symphonic elements.  This contrast works well most of the time and provides an interesting element more bands should consider exploring.  Vocal work is two-fold here: bassist Mike Gallant provides all the "harsh" vocals, while guitarist Colin Parrish provides the cleanly sung melodic vocals.  Unlike Christian Älvestam (Miseration, ex-Scar Symmetry), Colin's clean vocals aren't the passion-filled wails one might expect, but are a carefully honed "effected" vocal that employs an interesting "tunnel" effect while smoothing out the sound.  It's not an autotune vocal sound, but it does have a very mechanical feel to it.  Colin also double-tracks the clean vocals at time to great effect.  Nothing I say can accurately describe the music, however.  I'd recommend listening to samples via the band's Myspace page to truly get an idea of what they're doing.


The only real knocks I have about the album are that Colin's clean vocals can get a touch monotonous, even though his highly stylized approach works well for the music.  Also, the drums have plenty of power behind them, but they sound 100% triggered.  Nothing wrong with that per se, but I would love to hear what Mr. Nafziger could do with a totally acoustic kit in the studio and what that might produce.  I'd also like to hear Parrish flex his guitar muscle a bit more and increase the complexity of his solos a touch and do more of that in general, though not to the point where it interrupts the tasteful flow of the songs.  I think the band strikes a good balance between metal aggression and melodic flair, and I think given more time, their catchy songwriting could develop even further to make an album that will do more than fly under the radar like this excellent CD has.


Some may be unaware of the rough road this album has had getting out into the music world.  The band had recorded this material in 2009 and I actually had an advance digital copy to use for my radio show, and I interviewed Colin Parrish at that time to get the skinny on the band.  At that time they were freshly signed w/ Bombworks Records and working toward a CD release.  Unfortunately that deal fell through and it never materialized, so the band released the CD independently.  I applaud them for their determination to do so, because the album not only sounds fantastic (excellent production!), but the complete CD package is also nice with easy to read lyrics and a nice booklet.  If you're not a digital-only person and you like having the physical product in hand like I do, this is one to have to show the quality of what an indie release can be.  All in all, this is a high quality metal release that should please fans of melodic death metal, metalcore, possibly deathcore fans (those of more melodic persuasion), and "extreme metal" fans in general should get a kick out of this.  Highly recommended.


87/100

Japan FTW! Onmyouza!

The threat we are facing is serious.  It's no longer merely Godzilla.  Japanese music, animation, and culture have invaded America!  Okay, so that's a bit dramatic, but during the last 25 years or so, Japanese culture and entertainment has slowly crept into the collective consciousness of the Western world.  During the 1980's there were Japanese culture flirtations in the form of the Robotech anime and some Japanese rock/metal (namely X and Loudness), though those have remained largely niche.  The mid-1990's saw a much more dramatic influx of Japanese culture with more widespread distribution (thanks to companies like Manga and Bandai Entertainment) of Japanese anime, which then brought to attention of Western fans the phenomenon of Asian pop idols in the form of J-Pop music.  This was everything from the goofiest, corniest J-Pop known to man included in some of the more off-beat anime, to more life-like J-Pop like that of "CHAM!" in the Perfect Blue anime film (Satoshi Kon, FTW!).


The Anime industry in America (in particular) has blossomed over the last decade and a half as a result of this, and the advent of the Internet has only increased this and made anime more prevalent.  No longer is it just Pokemon or DragonBall Z (blech!), but with SyFy channel's "Ani-Monday" and Cartoon Network often having more sophisticated and wide-ranging anime (everything from Gundam Wing to InuYasha to Trigun and beyond) of varying genres and styles. Landmark anime films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell have become well-respected by many serious film buffs, and anime on the whole is taken more seriously by Western culture in general.

Other Japanese cultural aspects have taken longer to "catch on", like cosplay, Japanese films (now becoming a legitimate niche in America), and in particular, Japanese music.  Apart from a handful of Japanese artists or bands, Asian music in general just hasn't caught on, likely due to the giant domination of the American "music" machine dictating to us what music we like and want to hear.  While that machine has served its purpose and has indeed brought some good music to the masses, I am not one to simply eat what's fed to me unless I have no other choice.  I prefer to pick my own meals when I have any opportunity to do so.

Being the nerd that I am, I probably exist in the nether space between being "up" on Japanese music and not.  I'm not sure if that means I'm either not hip enough, or perhaps too hip to be into bands like Sigh, Dir en grey, or Versailles yet.  But for all of the Japanese bands I have yet to discover, I have taken to one that I feel is the is the pinnacle of what Japanese music is and should be when it comes to talent and creativity.  Onmyouza (also sometimes spelled as Onmyo-za or Onmyosza) is a band that is lumped in with the "Visual Kei" or "Visual Style" movement, and that much is valid, but they're so much more than just a band dressing up in traditional Japanese garb with long hair and androgynous looks.

My wife says they ALL look like girls, but I know better :)

Onmyouza is a highly talented, overtly creative and prolific heavy metal machine.  Since the band's inception in the late 90's, they've recorded 9 full-length studio albums and 1 EP, released 8 concert videos/DVDs, participated in a split video project with 3 other bands, and released 16 singles, along with 2 live albums, a singles/hits compilation, and a boxed set containing the bulk of the recorded works that also includes 2 b-sides CDs and a DVD with all their music videos.  DO WANT!!!  Unfortunately, King Records either hasn't pursued or sufficiently found distribution in the West for niche product like this, so importing is rather expensive.  My collection of the band's last 5 albums and the Wagashikabane Wo Koeteyuke DVD was quite a chunk of change to purchase over a year ago.  CDs that would normally cost $15 USD at any store in America are suddenly nearly twice that to import, and the DVD was a staggering $54 USD to import!

"Sweet Dreams" was written by the Eurythmics before this boxset came out, so we'll let them slide (this once) for not mentioning it.

By contrast, here's my meager sampling:

Yes, you should all be jealous of my small, but prestigious collection!

Onmyouza released their 1st album in 1999, and in the 10 years following they have recorded a string of successful albums (commercially AND artistically).  Their concerts, while not as big a production as KISS, are a sight to behold, as evidenced by the DVD I have, as well as videos you can find on YouTube of the many other concerts they've filmed.  One of my dreams, assuming I can afford to do so before they hang it up, is to travel to Japan and see them live in concert.  I'm not sure if I'll fulfill that dream, but I hope that financial concerns won't prevent me from at least trying.  Of course, that's not the only reason to visit Tokyo, but for me it's certainly a priority reason.

So what's all the fuss about Onmyouza, you may say?  Let me explain.  No, there is too much.  Let me sum up:

1. Onmyouza has a female lead singer.  Now before anyone cries foul and says, "But so does Nightwish/Seraphim/Lunatica/" let me say that few vocalists can compare to the likes of the lovely and talented Kuroneko.  She is a powerful singer with great range and versatility, a great sense of dynamics, and fabulous control over her instrument.  Watching the DVD and other live concert footage of the band, it's apparent that when performing live, she is so on-point vocally that it's almost scary.
   
2. The band breathes much-needed life into the genre of traditional metal by bringing in some Japanese melodic sensibility and traditional melodies, by utilizing both female vocals and male vocals (bassist and band leader Matatabi handles most of this), by throwing in some occasional gruff/growl vocals for effect, and by having such a sense of drama about their whole presentation that it just takes it to the next level.
   
3. While I'm the first guy that will say it doesn't matter what you wear on stage if you play well and captivate the audience with your songs, that doesn't apply to Onmouza because they make their whole "Visual Kei" look/feel an integral element to their music and visual appeal.  Not that Japanese guys with long hair that look like women in their photoshoots is particularly "appealing", but then the band takes its look from dress and style that was popular in Japan quite a long time ago, well before music of their kind was even a thought.  And they don't go over-the-top with their look, either.  It's clean, specific, and generally consistent from one performance to the next.
   
4. Let's not forget the songs!  This is a band that not only has full command of their instruments, but they also have studied years of heavy metal and understand what it takes to write good songs.  They are hooky, both musically and vocally (quite a feat, considering I don't know a lick of Japanese and I find myself stumbling on the words singing along), and they take the best elements of the bands they emulate (Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are two chief influences) while throwing plenty of their own flavor in for good measure.  In addition, their range is impressive, from fun, swingin' songs that are very "up" to dark, brooding pieces that ooze drama.

I've been singing the praises of this band for the last 2 years but it seems like no one is listening.  Why, I have no idea, as this amazing group is just too good to go unnoticed and unappreciated by the metal masses.  I know I'm not the band's only fan in the US, because I've read album reviews and comments by others, but they simply don't have enough of a following here in the states.  Some metal band (Iron Maiden perhaps?) needs to take this band out for a full US tour and really blow the doors off the American metalhead populace, because I think if folks knew what they were missing, they'd flip out and realize that Japan has been hiding this goldmine of awesomeness in their country far too long.  I shall end this post the only way I can think how - with music videos that shows the band at their best. Watch and learn, people.

"Nemuri" from "Mugen Hoyou"

"Basilisk" from an anime soundtrack

"Kokui no Tennyo" from "Maou Taiten"

"Aoki Dokugan" from "Kongo Kyubi"

"Konpeki no Soujin", a sequel to "Aoki Dokugan"

"Kumikyoku Yoshitsune- Raise Kaikou" from "Garyotensei"