Monolith (New Zealand) - Atavistic (2008)

 

Monolith (New Zealand) - Atavistic (2008)


DARK AMBIENT

Full lenght 2008
Self released


Here is a review from the 'StonerDoom' forum



'Damn. After hearing this project develop in bits and pieces over the last few years through ipod headphones, and on hijacked stereos at parties, finally listenin to the whole thing start to finish was incredible. It sounds as good through headphones as it does on a massive stereo, but the “listen without distraction” tag on the inlay hinted at a headphones vibe for the first listen.

If I had to sum this recording up in a word, it would have to be... apocalyptic. There's not much i've heard that summons up such desolate images. Theres the image conjured at one point of a giant planetiod somewhere in the solar system (or beyond?) rolling out of orbit and slowly (but inexorably) making its way towards earth. And i'm not talking about some mere asteriod either. I'm talkin about something Mars sized (maybe it is Mars, who knows? Its grey/blue in my mind though), an unstoppable force meeting a not so immovable object. After it hits Earth we'll probably spin out of orbit as well, annihilating more planets or merely ending up vaporised once we hit the Sun.

Of course theres more layers than this...as well as cosmic apocalypse we have a more human apocalypse...a kind of musical nuclear winter. This is most evident in the track Meggido, which reminds me at points of Penderecki's "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima", mainly in theme but musically in the crescendo of dissonant feedback(?) in the middle. Total devastation.

Then, near the end of this track, it ceases to be a threnody and becomes more of a requiem, almost triumphant in a crushingly somber way. Its hard to describe but this part of the piece uplifts and gives hope while at the same time being one of the most depressing points on the record!

Searchlights I had heard before from the promo, and works well in context. The fact that the "head" (main theme) is returned to at the end of the piece after a long interlude is referential of the jazz idiom, but overall it feels more in the avant garde vein. The feel i get with this album is that the songs are too distinct to be considered a "one song in 4 parts" deal, but yet it feels like an instrumental concept album, where themes are often referenced and feels revisited. Put another way, it feels like 4 movements of a classical piece.

Then the Sun Ra cover, which is a departure in both style and instrumentation. While the rest of the album felt to me like it had more of an avant garde "classical" drone approach, this track (obviously) is more rooted in free jazz and psychedelia. Also the fact that its no longer a one person project brings in the element of collective improvisation, with both vocals and sax taking (i assume) improvised solos at the same points as the solos in the original. This makes the whole feel of the piece more chaotic than the rest of the album, which is a good thing. Here other "free radicals" are introduced to freely improvise over the soundscapes.

While it does retain the dark feel of the rest of the album, I can't help viewing it as distinct from the other 4 tracks. Maybe, like Sabbaths Into the Void, this is the follow on from the bittersweet ending of Meggido and thus the soundtrack to the survivors of Earths apocalypse fleeing to the "other worlds"...whether they find freedom waiting there or only doom we shall have to wait and see. Keen to show the Jazz school cats this one.

Wow. That was longwinded. Not sure how you’d pigeon hole this stylisticly, but the words ‘ambient’, ‘drone’, ‘soundscape’, ‘experimental’ pop up. Obviously with this sort of music you can go so deep into the texture and depth of sound, and thats what really makes this record.

Experimental, to be sure, but theres some chronically dark shit on here! Actually made me feel insecure...like there was nothing but nuclear charred wasteland outside. If you like your Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Neurosis, Sunn0))) and the like, definately check it out.'

For fans of: Goblin, Fabio Frizzi, Ennio Morricone, Dead Can Dance, Sun Ra, Bohren & Der Club of Gore, Blut Aus Nord, Ulver, Godspeed You!Black Emperor, Vangelis, Grails, Angelo Badalamenti

Released 11 November 2008

All music composed, recorded and performed by Monolith.
'There Are Other Worlds (They Have Not Told You Of)' originally written and performed by Sun Ra on the Lanquidity LP (1978).
Guest Saxophone on 'There Are Other Worlds' performed by Alex Flannery.
Guest Vocals on 'There Are Other Worlds' performed by Matt Molloy.
'Atavistic' sculpture on cover crafted by Richard Kearney.

MONOLITH

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