Monolord

A psych-blasted sludge-metal trio based in the traditionally black metal-oriented city of Gothenburg, Swedish doom rock unit Monolord was founded in 2013 around the talents of Thomas V Jäger (vocals, guitars), Esben Willems (drums), and Mika Häkki (bass). The band's 2014 debut LP, Empress Rising, was released on Riding Easy Records, drew praise from a host of online zines, and quickly rose to the top of Bandcamp's doom charts. A sophomore effort, Vaenir, arrived in 2015, and was followed by a heavy bout of touring both at home and abroad. In 2017, the group dropped their third studio long-player, Rust, again via Riding Easy. The following year saw the power trio ink a deal with Relapse Records. No Comfort, their fourth studio effort and first outing for the label, arrived in September 2019 and peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. ~ James Christopher Monger