Band:	Monolithe
Album:	Monolithe II
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	2005

01. Monolithe II

Two years after the release of "Monolithe I" the French funeral doom artillery of Monolithe managed to release the sequel of their debut album under the name "Monolithe II". For one more time the album consists only of one composition and it is another monolith going down the slope in an utterly heavy and really slow way, destroying everything that is willing to step in its way.

The album/song flows like a freezing river soon to lose itself in the deathlike touch of everlasting coldness and it truly is the sequel of "Monolithe I" for its sound paces in a way with the overall feeling of the first chapter in the world of Monolithe. The only fault that i find in this album is when the time comes to compare it to its predecessor it doesn't reach perfection in terms of surrounding the listener. Surely, the instrument interpretation seems to be better this time, yet the album doesn't have this catchy feeling "Monolithe I" had, failing sometimes to keep the interest of the listener to the highest levels for the 50 minutes it lasts, whereas "Monolithe I" for 52 minutes was a real opus to make you drown in its world wholeheartedly.

The guitar work for one more time is well-thought and well-executed, with the one guitar offering the monolithic ultra heavy/slow riffing and the other one varying between acoustic passages or more creative depressive and distressing ideas that embrace the listener in emotional ways. The rhythm section, with the drumming being for one more time programmed, plays its role in the most appropriate way, lending a bombastic feeling to the album creating walls of sound, whereas the keyboard melodies that float in the air with their ominous and bleak melodies make the atmosphere more vivid and soulful. A really nice and innovative addition is the use of the accordion that makes the sound of Monolithe more affected and interesting. Richard Loudin for one more time in the vocal factor pours his soul with his deep grunting interpretation that sounds eerie and powerful, making the overall feeling even darker and gloomy.

The atmosphere of the band this time is more, let's say, ominous and depressive rather than bittersweet and hopeless as it was in "Monolithe I", and probably that's the reason why the band failed at times to keep the interest of the audience at the highest levels, without this meaning that the album/song is bad. On the contrary, it is a great lengthy funeral doom piece, it's just that it's not as great as "Monolithe I", but that is just my opinion.

The fans of funeral doom and Monolithe should definitely check this album/song out. Yet, if you are new to the band and you are willing to check them out prefer "Monolithe I" and then try "Monolithe II".