In Mourning – Monolith (2010) Review

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In Mourning plays very modern sounding progressive melodic death metal. Some of their more progressive moments bring to mind Opeth. This is about as good as they get on this album.

I really want to like this music more. There is a lot going on here and the subtly is there as well. That is something that really sets one band apart from another. The nuances. The atmosphere that builds. The layers of intrigue. Sadly, most of the material on this album is more monotonous than interesting.

I guess the biggest let down is knowing that the band is extremely talented. They know how to create atmosphere. I’m mostly passive about what is going on but here and there something will catch my ear. This when I know they can do better. They created something interesting and beautiful for 30 seconds and then it disappeared back into a fog of nothingness.

The Smoke is a great song. If you pick up the disc, start there. Again, I hear a lot of Opeth here.

I also want to note that the cover art was designed by our friend Travis Smith (he created the flaming earth logo for RazeTheWorld). He also does the cover art for Opeth… See where I’m going here.

Let’s hope that they get a bit more creative and dynamic with their songs next time. I know this band can be amazing, but here it is only slightly amazing.  I’d check out the new work from bands like In Vain, Be’lakor, or even Martriden if you are looking for something in this style.

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