ALBUM REVIEW: Monument – Onhou

Situated in the far north of the Netherlands, in the city of Groningen, resides the desolation inspired sludge metal quartet ONHOU. Mixing grim, dismal sludge metal with the miserable, solemn atmospheres of post-metal, ONHOU embrace the ghastly and sinister history of the land in which they spawned from, and have established themselves as one of the heaviest bands in the northern parts of the Netherlands. Their debut album Endling was designed to make you feel uncomfortable; in contrast, the band’s sophomore album Monument drags you to the very depths of misery, where time is relentlessly gruesome and unforgiving, echoing off of the ruins of civilisation as what once was has long since been lost and forgotten. Compelling, dark and utterly mirthless, ONHOU show you what ravishing darkness is through hulking riffs, driving drum beats and sinister synths.

Transcending the album is ONHOU’s love of abject misery in the grim north. Painting a grey and bleak picture, you can feel the sinister enjoyment of suffering with every distorted chord and stabbing synth hit. With all bar one of the songs running over ten minutes this is an album that explores the torrid realities of existence through a plethora of evolving soundscapes that plunge you deep into dark and withering planes of existence where previously strong foundations crumble with every cavernous sounding beat of ONHOU’s drums. Taking the time to build tension until it is almost unbearable and then launching into a cataclysmic riff is an unbelievably satisfying pay off for your endurance.

With a resounding dissonance you can’t help but feel enveloped by the chaotic sounds of desolation, in turn conjuring up apocalyptic scenes in your imagination. Alongside this relentless attention to detail and hopelessness, there is a tantalisingly hypnotic quality to the band’s music. You feel bewitched by the album’s bleakness, hexed by its darkness and curiously infatuated with its sinister yet powerful walk into the mouth of the abyss. As it guides you through the barren land depicted on its cover, the anguished screams seem to fade into the nothingness, lost forever in the swirls of fog that shroud the landscape with its white grey cloth.

Musically, the album is utterly chilling; so much of it revolves around making you feel as uncomfortable as possible as the ghosts of all things long dead encircle you. This is an album that commands your attention so that you can really feel the full effects of each song’s slow build and violent pay off. One of the main factors that contributes to the petrifying sound of ONHOU is the synthesisers. Always present and always evolving, the band use a variety of synth sounds to create eerie soundscapes, switching between glassy, crystalline organs to swelling high and low pitched drones. Accompanied by disembodied vocals like the ones found on Below, you can feel the hair on every part of your body stand on end. One notable difference in comparison to the band’s debut album Endling is that Monument is significantly more expansive. Whereas Endling focused on the uncomfortable confines of a small space, causing inextricable claustrophobia, Monument tackles the vast emptiness that we see in life, a horrifying case of when you scream no one will hear you as your voice dissolves into the void.

With a pending drum beat driving the song, Monument opens up with When On High, and the monumental and intimidating track sets the overall tone for the album. Dark sludgy riffs dominate and loom large over you, and you’re left to cower in its sinister presence. Null truly embodies the daunting idea of complete nothingness – the ghostly vibes make you contemplate your existence in the most visceral manner. The longest song Below feels like the slow and devastating descent into complete madness. As swirling synths and droning organs make it feel like a funeral dirge, a black mournfulness washes over you as the slow waltz guides you to the edge of the abyss. Album closer Ruins is arguably the strangest track on the album, driven forward mainly by synths, at around halfway through the big sludge riffs dissolve into a strange alien communication synths, which offers a complete contrast to the rest of the album. This curveball jolts you back to reality before you’re launched head first into another hypnotic round of sludge riffing.

ONHOU have ventured into the void and made it their home. Monument embodies all that is haunting and miserable about the world, taking you on an unforgettable musical journey that makes you contemplate the fragility of human existence. Eventually all will decay and turn into dust, and if this is what it sounds like we’re all in for one of a ride into the depths of darkness.

Rating: 8/10

Monument is set for release on December 9th via Tartarus Records/Lay Bare Recordings.

Like ONHOU on Facebook.