.....ones we're aware of anyway!
Terrorizer:
"Ass-heavy
like Mastodon or High On Fire, y'know, that sort of weightiness that you won't
even headbang to because your neck feels too heavy, Behold! The Monolith
promise great things on this three-track debut EP. Uglier and grittier than the
aforementioned heavyweights, they can also rock out like the '70s were just
yesterday. Bodes well, this does. 8/10"
MetalReviews.com:
“Quality Sludge is hard to find these
days if you’re getting tired of the big names, and so it’s a pleasant surprise
to turn on Behold! The Monolith’s debut EP and hear something that references
several bands – High On Fire and Mastodon the main ones I can pick out –
without ever stooping to actually stealing from them. Yes, a new Sludge band
that has their own sound – I’m as shocked as you are, but there it is. Mixing
Bluesy catchiness and Celtic Frostian thrashings is something that many have
tried but few succeed at, but here Land Of The Midnight Sun achieves that and more,
bassist Kevin’s vocals a more old-school Death Metal take on Tom G. Warrior’s
morbid grunt. What’s especially impressive is how naturally the songs flow from
section to section, despite the six minutes length never getting dull or
struggling, keeping that classic Doom sound at the foundation.
The EP just gets better from then on. Witch
Hunt Supreme
opens with a tech-prog workout, Mastodon’s Blood Mountain standing and nodding
approval as the band noodle away before switching to a wonderfully slow churn,
catchiness returning later with a Cathedral-esque sample and riffs. Volcanus
Eruptus, meanwhile, finishes the EP off in style with some awesome classic
vinum Sabbathi, more hints of melodic Mastodon worship slotting in perfectly.
There
is literally nothing I can say in criticism of this release. The band are due
in the studio soon to record a full-length, and from the looks of things it
should be a killer album. Plus, they have t-shirts available for sale depicting
warrior monkeys in helmets. Need I say any more? Keep an eye out for this band,
for great things are sure to come.”
MINDGRINDER ON WMUC (wmucradio.com)
'Behold! The Monolith' hails from Los Angeles, California. With clear influences from Motorhead, High on Fire, Mastodon, and the Melvins, 'Monolith' leads you from track to track on a slow doom tromp, intermittently breaking into an impulsive, gritty, sprinting display of power. Bass lurks through the first track, under layers of fluid guitar work, before the two convene to lay the sludgehammer, setting the mood for the rest of the EP. The vocals reflect influences from metal behemoths like NOOTHGRUSH and Grief, with a hearty helping of Lemmy.
Easily one of my favorite releases of this year:”
LosingToday.com:“http://www.myspace.com/beholdthemonolith
- must admit we here are all in favour of metal / down tempo / psychedelicists
in our gaff which is how behold the behemoth describe themselves on their my
space site, of course with a name like behold the Monolith you rightly imagine
the down tempo side of the equation to be a tad tempered and restrained and if
it isn’t then being soundly and roundly kicked in the wings from here to the
apocalypse. Behold the Monolith hail from LA and number three in the ranks, to
date they‘ve released just one EP called er - ‘EP‘ and are currently in the
studio no doubt cranking up all sorts of blood letting fierce some carnage in
an attempt to nail a follow up. Three apocalyptic angels of grid locked groove
feature here, heavy bearded beatnik bastards each and every one of them and
should be well on the radar of those of you who love your listening experiences
to sound like they’ve recently emerged from some sort of thick pungent primordial
swamp, ravaged and blistered stoner blues acutely riddled with toxic classic
rock riffs that have been pummelled, flattened, thrown in a furnace dragged out
and bashed out of shape and recognition by a humungous anvil and then
squirreled into a nightmarish end of days grind. Alas no sign of the down tempo
so far well certainly not on
‘volcanus eruptus’ - an evil doom trod dread
filled retarded grunged out rock beast clawed from the lowest pits of hell and
slavishly welded to a serious arse kicking heads down no nonsense buckling
boogie - did someone say Jesus Lizard in a car crash with the re-activated
Killing Joke - grim, gruesome and gripping stuff. ‘land of the midnight sun’ is
scarred and withered by a baiting slo-core agitant brought on by skull pounding
clangs of festering primal riff growls - punishing intense and sounding not
unlike ‘skull fuck’ era Walking Seeds at times though frankly tin hats are a
must when approaching 4.30 thereon wherein everything goes ballistic - a killer
tour de force of morbid intent. ‘witch hunt supreme’ seems to be the favoured
cut if listener plays is anything to just by and why not - a cranium clamping
pyrotechnic prog bastard festooned with some of the most putrid and squalid
slo-core riffage to have ever escaped the clutches of the Earache imprint -
respect indeed.”
Theworriedwell.blogspot.com
"Sometimes my brain tells me I should only be listening to
music with serious artistic intent, I'm a grown man with a limited human
lifespan and no expectation of an afterlife, too much truly life and world-view
altering music to listen to and so little time or opportunity to do so. Other
times my brain tells me to grab a beer, listen to something like these bastard
sons of Weedeater & High On Fire and give my balls a good scratch. Often I
give in and feel all the better for it, losing that 1.3% difference between you
and a chimp can put you in awe of the simplest objects. So my fellow humanzees,
with that in mind.........Behold! The Monolith."