MONOLITHE  » Nebula Septem » full streaming

« NEBULA SEPTEM » OUT TODAY!  Listen to the album in full right here.

Thanks to Stoned Meadow of Doom YouTube channel.

1. Anechoic Aberration – 0:00
2. Burst In The Event Horizon – 7:00
3. Coil Shaped Volutions – 14:00
4. Delta Scuti – 21:00
5. Engineering The Rip – 28:00
6. Fathom The Deep – 35:00
7. Gravity Flood – 42:00

« Nebula Septem is the 7th full length album from Monolithe. This 7-track slice of darkness and cosmic despair entitled « Nebula Septem » by the French ensemble known as Monolithe is a morose odyssey that you ougth to embark on if you consider yourself a moody sucker. Utterly dark and poisonous (funeral) doom metal with quite a few progressive touches to it is the order of the day here. The seven compositions all last seven minutes each, which is rather cool, I think.

The music is a sweeping, majestic treat at times, but with a claustrophobic and dense quality to it that makes it somewhat challenging to absorb and digest. Boasting strong melodies and cleverly conceived arrangements with depth and texture to them, « Nebula Septem » is a bleak and oppressive affair yet strangely exquisite and beautiful at times too. Musically, on Nebula Septem Monolithe continue to spread their wings and expand on their core funeral doom style. Over the last few albums, and the previous two especially, the band have begun to add progressive metal elements into their sound, and this has worked very well for them. This trend continues on Nebula Septem, with the band simply going from strength to strength in most areas of delivery.

This release contains what is probably some of Monolithe’s strongest material. Each song on this album is well-written and has clearly been constructed by people with firm goals in mind. All of the tracks have their own flavour and identity, with each one offering a different variation on the core theme for the listener to enjoy. Monolithe’s sprawling, grandiose music is as affecting and engaging as ever.

The superb use of keyboards adds a haunting and ethereal atmosphere to the proceedings that brings to mind the first few albums by veteran acts such as Saturnus, November’s Doom, Skepticism, and My Dying Bride, but Monolithe seems to have stumbled on a sound and a musical trademark of sorts that they can rightfully claim as their own. Not every tune stands out, but the album as a whole is a coherent and cohesive effort. If anything, you need to check the songs named « Coil Shaped Volutions » and « Fathom the Deep » out as they are a masterful display of what Monolithe are capable of summoning from beyond the spheres of human existence. »

Review from Eternal Terror