Monolith are a very young act from Germany that recorded a four-track demo in 2011/2012. The trio (Ralf Brummerloh-b, v; André Dittmann-d; Ron Osenbrück-g) started working on their debut full length in Summer 2013, and they joined Final Gate Records’ roster, which will release Monolith’s debut.
The result stands for forty minutes of sleazy Old School Doom. Monolith’s aim ‘was to create a raw, live-like, 70ies-style atmosphere’ (excerpt taken from the bio-information), and except for the vocals and some additional guitar lines, the whole was recorded live to reach this goal. And it does work! Dystopia indeed is heavy-as-f*ck, edgy and unpolished, and this kind of Doom Rock / Metal sounds as if it were recorded three, even four decades ago. It surely lacks of any form of originality (the album also includes some bluesy parts and Proto-Stoner injections), but if you’re into the likes of (earlier) Black Sabbath (vocals!!!), Saint Vitus (solos), Pentagram (psychedelica) etc., your attention might be activated.
However, in comparison to the bands I just mentioned, Monolith aren’t but a small (read: cheap) ‘tribute’-act. Their stuff is all right yet not that enthralling at all. The whole album drools on with nearly something remarkable to add (though I can accept the frenzy guitar solos). And no, it is not bad, this album, but one cannot call it a masterpiece either (at all). There are several better alternatives nowadays!