The band began way back in 2013 as a small inconspicuous side project by the members of the Swedish boogie band Marulk as an outlet for their heavier tendencies. In fact, from a metal perspective, a very young Thomas Jäger had already earned his metal pedigree being the bass player for the Scandinavian gothic doom band Draconian between 2002-2004, playing on their renowned debut ‘Where Lovers Mourn’.

Monolord brings a whole different kind of doom though. Their 2014 debut ‘Empress Rising’ is shit f*ck heavy. It sounds like Conan and Electric Wizard got their hoochy coochy on together and spawned this gravity-defying abomination, and I mean that in the nicest way possible.

They slowly but steadily honed their craft over the next few albums, ‘Vaenir’ and ‘Rust’. Especially that last one began to show they have much, much more to offer than the average Wizard wannabe. By the time they got out their fourth album, they had been picked up by Relapse Records. With ‘No Comfort’ it was clear the Swedish three-piece was playing with the big boys now. Truth be told, by 2019, they had become a far more interesting affair than whatever Wizard was up to.

Soaring above their initial inspirations like the owl on the cover, they had evolved beyond the initial classification of stoner doom. It’s all still there of course, but so is a plethora of other things.

‘Your Time to Shine’ was in that perspective a prophetic state of intent for them to take the next level. Creatively, the three doomsters certainly delivered on that. However, this is probably a somewhat divisive record, where some original trilogy fans felt this was not heavy or doomy enough. And I get it: if you compare ‘Empress Rising’ to ‘Your Time to Shine’, the difference is staggering, but if you would take the time to listen through the full discography in chronological order, you would find a very natural progression up to their sixth record now ‘Neverending’.

Despite its moniker, it’s actually not a never-ending album at all, clocking in at just over 43 minutes. ‘Iodine’ opens up the record very moodily as the lumbering riffs slowly pull you in guided by Jäger’s haunting vocals. The band has always worn their Black Sabbath influences on their sleeves, therefore I’d like to think his shouting ‘You Bastard’ in the refrain of the same-titled song is his nod to the lyrics in ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ and his own little homage to the late Prince of Darkness.

Being ‘Inside a Collider’ doesn’t sound like a very enjoyable prospect at all. Here the band gets as close to Paradise Lost as they’re ever going to get. I mean, the riffs on here could have come from ‘Lost Paradise’, barring the vocals then. Midway through the song we even get some awesome lead guitar work that would leave Pallbearer panting. Three songs in and I’m far from being disappointed here. ‘Crystal Bridge’ sees them crossing over into more psychedelic terrain with some trance-inducing guitar work to expand your mind. ‘Oozing Wound’ continues in that trippy vein although in a more crushing fashion. ‘The Masque’ is again heavy on the Sabbathisms while ‘Invisible’ starts a bit inconspicuous, dare I say invisible, compared to some of the other highlights on the records, but it ends in a spectacular display of guitar prowess.

It’s the first record where they pulled in an outsider to handle the production duties, and they got involved with legendary producer Silvia Massy who has worked with countless luminaries  in every possible genre, from Johnny Cash to Tool.

The biggest curveball, however, comes right at the end. If you thought ‘Inside a Collider’ was the closest they would ever get to death doom, well think again. The closing ‘It’s Neverending’ is a slab of bonafide, cut straight from the bone doom-death. Originally the six-string-wielding vocalist had intended to do the grunts himself, but ultimately they got none other than Jörgen Sandström from Grave and Entombed to take care of those. Jäger takes over in the end again to close off the record for good and let it slowly fade out.

They’ll be laying waste to the Swamp stage at Alcatraz festival on Friday August 9, so mark your calendar!

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