Behold ! The Monolith - S/T

I have heard the previous recordings from this band and they were impressive to say the least but they have really taken it up a notch with this,their full length self titled album. “Battlestagg” kicks things off in true headbanging Sludge Metal fashion with a great riff and with awesome grunting vocals.A killer way to start any album or live show but things get even better as the album progresses."Battle For Balls Deep" shows the real potential and power this band can produce,it starts off with wild drumming and fast riffing before shifting gears many times throughout the 10 minutes plus epic track.Within the one song they dish up some tasty Doom/Sludge riff progressions before moving into a more melodic 70's Rock sound and then shifting back to Metal once again.There is plenty to get excited about in this track as it is a extremely well put together track and maybe the highlight of the album."Elders" and "Phantasmata/Waking Life" are two more good tracks especially the later with its more ambient vibe and its groovy bass lines.At the halfway mark of the track there is a chugging Sludge Filled riff section that slays before it moves into a kind of Blues meets Metal section.The band certainly moves between styles but they do it with ease and a fair amount of finesse.The final track is "Guardians of the Abyss/Primal Extenuation/Rise of the Brohemoth" which continues in a similar vein but stretching out past the 12 minute mark this time.Once again it all seems very easy for them because they obviously know their Sludge Metal techniques very well.This is a pretty solid 40 minutes of Sludge meets Rock with the only debatable point being the vocals,it may not be to everyone's liking.The album cover is very striking and production is good but without being overblown.This is a band that can only get better and they deserve more praise than they are currently getting,i don't see them mentioned very often while surfing the Internet which is a shame because they kick some ass.8.5/10

http://www.myspace.com/beholdthemonolith