Photo credit: James Rexroad
Swedish sludge squad, Monolord, have released their new track, “Oozing Wound,” as a single. This is the second preview of their upcoming album, Neverending, arriving on May 29, via Relapse Records. Check it out below and read more from the band.
Pre-order Neverending here: https://www.relapse.com/pages/monolord-neverending
“It’s the first song we’ve done in a drop tuning,” vocalist/guitarist Thomas Jäger reveals. “We usually play in B, but “Oozing Wound,” “You Bastard,” and “It’s Neverending” are all drop A. Except for one part, “Oozing Wound” is almost the same riff all the way through. It’s repetitive, but we do different stuff with it, like remove the guitar and have just bass and drums in parts and then remove rhythm guitar when I play the solo melody. The lyrics are about being stuck on a bad road, feeling trapped with someone who takes advantage of you.”
To create Neverending, Monolord decamped to Ashland, Oregon to record with legendary producer/engineer Sylvia Massy (Tool, System of a Down, and Johnny Cash). The collaboration began when Massy asked vocalist/guitarist Thomas Jäger to send everything the band had ever written. “She asked me to send her everything we had—not just songs written for the album, but every stray riff and idea,” he says. “I even sent her stuff I’d written ten years ago. She listened to all of it and sent us a list of what she wanted to work on.” The band rehearsed 12 songs, recorded 11, and ultimately selected eight for Neverending. The result captures a focused but expansive version of Monolord’s sound.
The band announced the new album with a video for “You Bastard” (https://youtu.be/N-dfIpmX-xo), which captured moments from their studio sessions with Massy.
Neverending tracklisting:
01 Iodine
02 You Bastard
03 Inside A Collider
04 Crystal Bridge
05 Oozing Wound
06 The Masque
07 Invisible
08 It’s Neverending *
*-features vocals by Jörgen Sandström (Grave, ex-Entombed)
The band’s U.S. tour begins on June 11. Mizmor opens the Western U.S. dates, Khemmis opens on all Eastern U.S. dates with the exception of the Muddy Roots Festival. Tickets for all dates are on-sale now via Monolord.com
Monolord U.S. tour dates
Mizmor opens on all Western U.S. dates:
June 11 San Diego, CA Casbah
June 12 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
June 13 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
June 14 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s
June 16 Eugene, OR John Henry’s
June 17 Portland, OR Nova PDX
June 18 Seattle, WA Substation
June 19 Bellingham, WA Structures Brewing
June 20 Tacoma, WA Airport Tavern Music Hall
June 23 Denver, CO Marquis Theater
June 24 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
June 25 Las Vegas, NV Bizarre Bar
June 26 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriet’s
June 27 Los Angeles, CA The Regent Theater
Khemmis opens on all Eastern U.S. dates:
August 27 Chicago, IL Thalia Hall
August 28 Louisville, KY Portal
August 29 Atlanta, GA Garden Club
August 30 Asheville, NC Eulogy
August 31 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern
September 2 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts
September 3 Brooklyn, NY Elsewhere
September 5 Baltimore, MD Labor Daze
September 6 Cookeville, TN Muddy Roots Festival
September 8 Columbus, OH Ace of Cups
September 9 Detroit, MI Sanctuary
September 10 Indianapolis, IN Black Circle
European tour dates:
May 28 Malmö, SE Plan B
May 29 Stockholm, SE Slaktkyrkan
May 30 Gothenburg, SE Monument
July 30 Ghimbav, RO Rockstadt Extreme Festival
August 7 Kortrijk, BE Alcatraz Festival
October 6 Hamburg, DE Bahnhof Pauli
October 7 Haarlem, NL Patronaat
October 8 Eindhoven, NL Effenaar
October 9 Sint-Niklaas, BE De Casino
October 10 Paris, FR La Maroquinerie
October 11 Nantes, FR Le Ferrailleur
October 12 Toulouse, FR Le Rex
October 13 Lyon, FR Jack Jack
October 14 Aarau, CH KIFF
October 15 Munich, DE Backstage
October 16 Osnabrück, DE Bastard Club
October 17 Cologne, DE Gebäude 9
November 4 Copenhagen, DK Stengade
November 5 Berlin, DE Columbia Theater
November 6 Dresden, DE Beatpol
November 7 Warsaw, PL Hydrozagadka
November 8 Krakow, PL Hype Park
November 9 Brno, CZ Kabinet Múz
November 10 Budapest, HU Dürer Kert
November 11 Vienna, AT Arena
November 12 Zagreb, HR Vintage Industrial Bar
November 13 Milan, IT Legend
November 14 Bologna, IT FreakOut
November 15 Karlsruhe, DE P8
Few modern doom bands balance sheer weight and melody like Monolord. Formed in Gothenburg in 2013, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Thomas Jäger, drummer Esben Willems, and bassist Mika Häkki have become one of heavy music’s most introspective and nuanced bands. They have earned global acclaim through relentless touring, with unforgettable performances at Hellfest, Desertfest, Psycho Las Vegas, and Roadburn. Their records, Empress Rising (2014), Vænir (2015), Rust (2017), No Comfort (2019), and Your Time To Shine (2021), cemented their reputation for blending crushing fuzz with melodic undercurrents and immersive repetition. Monolord now begin their next chapter with Neverending, produced by Sylvia Massy and arriving via Relapse Records on May 29.
Follow Monolord:
http://Monolord.com
http://Monolord.bandcamp.com
http://Instagram.com/monolordofficial
http://Facebook.com/monolordsweden