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I rarely review albums in the stoner/doom scene anymore. That is primarily because the scene is thankfully saturated with people who can knock it out of the park with such things. I still listen to full albums when they are released, but these days, especially these days, the album has to punch hard on sonic and emotional levels for me to reach for my keyboard. But that is what Neverending, the sixth studio album from Monolord, did.

Monolord – Neverending

Release Date: Out Now

Words: Sunil Singh

To be honest, that is all that Monolord knows how to do, knock you out with their alchemy of doom, melody, and deep nods to ’70s blues/psych. It was the perfect moment in their career to work with legendary producer Sylvia Massy, who worked on Tool’s groundbreaking Undertow album 33 years ago.

Sylvia Massy’s recording magic took Monolord to a higher realm of artistic expression with each instrument on point and Tomas V. Jäger’s vocals have never sounded better. It did not hurt matters that Massy’s studio in Ashland, Oregon, with its vintage vibe, gave the band a physical space to tap deep into their reservoir of songwriting talents, humanism, and collective consciousness of our planet’s plight.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the album.

Iodine

Banger opener. What else did you fuckin expect? A relatively short song that serves as an aural “amuse-bouche”, getting you primed for the whole meal of an album ahead. So many small musical delights. The almost immediate gearing of the guitars down to something fainter, but more ominous.

Then halfway through the song, it begins to bloom into the full Monolord sound, smoothly moving into that now familiar guitar tone of Tomas V. Jäger. In spite of being just a 3-minute song, everything you need to know about the band’s sound in 2026 is on display here.

You Bastard

The groove of this song is snarly and filthy, but is wonderfully paired with melodic vocals to balance out the overall complexion of this song. The dissonant guitars and drums do not compete with the soothing vocals. They both work in harmony to elevate each other.

In the end, it’s a favourable duel of heavy and light that yields a song that you can whistle and bang your head to. And man, is Esben pounding the shit out of those drums at the end. He went full Bill Ward here.

Inside A Collider

Confession. I rewound this song more than a few times before it finished. In fact, on one occasion, I started listening to the album from the beginning, fearing I was missing so many of Monolordisms.

The melodic middle, almost flirting with Rainbow-like moments, hits both softly and heavily, already showing the songwriting growth on this album. And of course, the song ends on the most beautiful guitars, with the band moving in slow, majestic unison. Dio would throw the horns in approval.

Easily could have been an album closer.

Crystal Bridge

This song feels like it was written for a swamp creature, the way it bursts out of the gates with its doom riff. But the song slowly finds its level, eventually surprising the listener with one of those beautiful moments. Think Planet Caravan, but not as gloomy.

But, before we have too much time to dwell on that, the song punches back with heaviness with the riff that opened the song. This is a perfect example of a song that meanders, but without feeling self-indulgent. It is such a tricky thing to do these days, as many bands layer a song with too many different elements for its own sake.

Monolord is intentional and dialled into the full spectrum of their musical capabilities. This song is emblematic of that.

Oozing Wound

The halfway mark of the album has a song that starts like a caged animal finally breaking free, but then it gears down to one of my favourite instrumental passages on the whole album.

“It’s the first song we’ve done in a drop tuning,” Jäger said. “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.”

Very few bands I know just have that signature tone that permeates the sound of a band. In this song, it is not only evident, it struts and swaggers.

“The lyrics are about being stuck on a bad road,” Jäger said, “feeling trapped with someone who takes advantage of you.” The band is firing on all doom cylinders at this point.

The Masque

A really buoyant song that harnesses the confident vocals and just some classic rock hooks. Such a brilliant move to throw in such a song, and give the album even more texture, stretching the soundscape even more.

Invisible

This song is a great follow-up to The Masque. Similar length and similar vibe of being easy on the ears. It would have been cliché to quickly go back to something darker and gloomier. The musical and emotional balance of this album is one of the many strengths of this album.

It’s Neverending

Of course, Monolord set us up for an album finale that was going to show all the teeth and claws at its disposal, but with a surprising twist. The opening vocals, Death Metal in nature, are provided by former Entombed bassist Jörgen Sandstrom.

This is the first time a Monolord song has not had Jäger on lead vocals. To hand them over to someone else for your album closer shows a level of creativity, collaboration, and humility that few bands I know possess.

“I did the growling on the demo, but it took me forever to record,” Jäger said. “It was more like to illustrate the idea. But Jörgen’s voice is so powerful, and his performance on the song is really great.”

Jäger eventually slides his voice in, perfectly in a section that is quieter and more reflective, reprising the song’s title with a musical outro that feels eerily similar to the one in Black Sabbath’s Heaven And Hell.

“When we got the vocals finally in place, I remember I just burst into laughter,” bassist Mika Häkki said. “That was just my sincere reaction to how happy that end result made me. Jörgen must have opened some new portal of some kind with those screams!”

This is the satisfying conclusion to an album that has to be considered as Album Of The Year.

“It’s been a wild ride and still is,” drummer Esben Willems said. “I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished along the way, and in many ways, this album feels like the essence of everything we’ve done so far.

“My mindset is the same it’s always been, to be the absolute best the three of us can be.”

Monolord are the doom merchants that the world needs and deserves.

Monolord released Neverending on 29 May 2026 via Relapse Records. Available as multiple limited-edition vinyl variants, CD and cassette, as well as digital, for more details visit relapse.com/pages/monolord-neverending.

Monolord have expanded their U.S. tour plans, adding a late Summer leg for the East Coast. Mizmor opens the Western U.S. dates, Khemmis opens on all Eastern U.S. dates with the exception of the Muddy Roots Festival.  Tickets and full dates can be found at monolord.com.

Monolord 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

Live Review: The Cookie Jar Complot – The Peer hat, Manchester

26th May 2025
Support: Mrs Frighthouse, She The Throne
Words: Matthew Williams

On one of the hottest days of the year so far, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of spending several hours underground in a Manchester basement, but what transpired was a night of contrast and spell binding music that thrilled and enchanted all who dared to brave the heat.

As I got to the venue, we were told that things were running slightly late and Holy Wounds were unable to play, so we waited for the fun to begin, and boy did the fun begin in earnest with the rhythmic power of She The Throne. Having seen them live before, they bring a mysterious feel to the stage and allow the music to speak for itself. Faces hidden, they open with “Larentia” and stand over their bank of switches and keys, playing an array of noises with piercing, wailing vocals as landscapes shift on the screen behind them. The heavy pulsing beat is dictated by the hooded figure as the programmed loops build tempos for the beautifully nightmarish songs, with “Nephilim” up next.

The crowd are hypnotised not just by her voice but with her expressive arm and body movements, as we watch in a trance like state. There are screams, computerised vocals to compliment the slow, heavy drone influence that gets more pained and anguished during “Clonus” as the crushing imagery adds to the narrative. The immersive sounds are wide ranging and I can feel the floor vibrating during final track “Clare” due to the deep bass, but the music has gorgeous repetitive beats whilst remaining innovative. The hooded figure kneels in front of the speaker holding a shaker box, with a contact mic inside, pressing the kill switch as clanging chains create unfathomable noises complimenting the reverb and feedback to end a quite absorbing set.

I reviewed Mrs Frighthouse’s album back in September last year and was intrigued by how they would pull this off live. One half of the wife and wife duo, Carys, places flowers around the stage before they begin as the screen behind has a warning message about surgical images being used during the first and last song. The begin with “DIY EXORCISM” as red lights flood the stage, adding to the tense dramatic nature of their performance. Their blend of high-pitched vocals from Carys, are fractured by low end vocals from Luna and they get darker and more sinister with “Eyeliner”.

This isn’t just about music, this is visual art in action, yet they are besieged by several tech issues on the night, with the visuals having to be reset, and Carys has a long-standing issue with the mic until eventually the sound guy came to help. But after a hug and a kiss they preserved and played a haunting new song, which allowed the vocals to shine before “Seagulls (Part 1)” and then the majestic “White Plaster Roses”. The music is dark and moody, as “Veil” creates more tension and suspense in the venue.

“Seagulls Part 2” puts a smile on my face, as the duo now seem back on track and we are fully immersed in their world of horror movie soundtrack music with deathly, hallowed screams. “Our Culture Without Autonomy” is followed by “Let My Spit Be Poison” but it’s “My Body is a Crime Scene” that proves to be most memorable. Carys is almost statuesque in posture, staring intently into the distance, swaying gently, before they hug, and this frantic rant about coercive control spills forth. It’s powerful and dramatic, all adding the tension of the stage theatrics as they end with the title track off their album, “Solitude Over Control”, with more moody pianos and slow pulsing beats as they conclude their mesmerising display.

Having never heard of The Cookie Jar Complot previously, the trio completely won me over from the word go. I walked in as “Cookies” began and for the next 45-60 minutes I was in a happy place. In stark contrast to the two previous acts, their music is full of happy melodies fuelled by the marvellous bass playing from Philipp. With guitarist Sven thanking us for “coming out on this hot day” they are compelling and full of groove.

Their instrumental music is described as post-rock, but to me it seems the anthesis of the melancholy-based genre, as their bend of jazz beats with the bass playing off the guitar is joyful and euphoric. By the time we get to hear “Beaver Deceiver” followed by “Cicades” their rhythms are flowing effortlessly, and we get bass string plucking from Phillip and fretboard solos from Sven. Sadly, there are a few technical issues once again, before Philipp informs us that the next song is “Cranes x 3, Cranes, Cranes, Cranes” with is oozing with melody before bursting into life.

I wasn’t quite prepared for the uplifting music that was being played by the trio, as they switch tempos with ease as billowed smoke gently fills the room. They play “Turns Out” and “Golden Boy”, but drummer Gilles informs us that the backing track has gone, yet they persevere without it. They have excellent camaraderie on stage, and the click track appears to come back just in time for “Birds Are A Lie” which has bluesy undertones over the spaced-out rhythm. They finish with the brilliant “Bats, Bringers of the Night” and leave us all smiling as they encourage all inside to “have a chat with them over a beer”.

A night of contrasting musical genres, but one that will last long in the memory.

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Website [Release date 05.06.26] The band Thirsty were formed in 2014 by former (and founder) Quireboys guitarist Guy Bailey, and over the next decade released three albums. With lyrical help from Russian poet Irina D, there was a different feel … Continue reading →

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