MONKEY3

(SWITZERLAND)

SPHERE

(2019)
LABEL:

NAPALM RECORDS

GENRE:

STONER

TAGS:
Hovering, Instrumental, Technical
"In the continuity of its recent predecessors, "Sphere" affirms the increasingly progressive signature of Monkey3, of which it is certainly the most powerful work."
CHILDERIC THOR (31.12.2019)  
5/5
(0) opinions (0) comment(s)
Over time, casting off the stoner's moorings to dock the shores of a more progressive (post) metal, although still as dynamic and instrumental as ever, Monkey3 has managed to shape an identity as assertive as it is endearing, which ultimately belongs only to him. In almost twenty years of career, the Swiss have logically established themselves among the masters of a rock that is both catchy and hovering and from which vocals are d. By joining the Napalm Records team in 2013 on the occasion of "The 5th Sun", the quartet even increased its visibility, gaining a amply justified success that the most disappointing "Astral Symmetry", engraved three years later, has not really managed to slow down. Despite this relative decrease in inspiration, many of us were waiting for his sixth album. Here it is. 

Some may see "Sphere" as a return to the roots; we prefer to see in it, on the contrary, the extension of the aerial and soft style at work since "The 5th Sun". "Spirals" summarizes the band's signature, stretching over more than eleven elegant and silky minutes an atmospheric rock whose spatial beauty can only evoke the Pink Floyd of "Wish You Were Here" or "Animals" with a hint of "Meddle", an obvious reference as soon as the guitars take off very high. After a long start in stellar colours, the track gradually awakens to the rhythm of percussions that nibble more and more on the space, before being definitively launched. Its features harden as Boris' stratospheric six-stringed string rivals DB's undulating keyboards. The title quietly moves towards a conclusion that looks like an apotheosis. 

At the other end answers 'Ellipsis'. 14 minutes for a real lesson in orgasmic empowerment. Gourmet bass, hypnotic groove drums, synths coming from the stars and pointillist guitar gradually come together in a heady spatial ballet. Moreover, listening to this pavement, we can see how much each musician holds his place here in a delicate ensemble whose beautiful freedom of features actually betrays a millimetre-long work.  

Between these two monuments are four composers with a more compact format, except for "Prism" whose emotional power and superior quality give it a pivotal role as the epicentre of a tsunami of beauty. Here again, these nine minutes offer the Swiss the opportunity to demonstrate their science of cataclysmic elevation. Behind his drums, Walter imprints a devastating energy, which is draped in ghostly electronic tablecloths. Driven by a guitar full of feeling, the finale can only bring tears to your eyes. Shorter, the rest is not an anecdotal, between an 'Axis' also floydian, an 'Ida' as dreamy as he is chaloupé and especially this 'Mass' with more desperate accents which spreads a dark and bewitching emphase. 

In the continuity of its recent predecessors, "Sphere" affirms the increasingly progressive signature of Monkey3, of which it is certainly the most powerful work. And so the most beautiful.
- Official website
SIMILAR BANDS:
ISIS, TOOL

TRACK LISTING:
01. Spirals
02. Axis
03. Prism
04. Mass
05. Ida
06. Ellipsis

LINEUP:
Boris: Guitares
Db: Claviers
Kevin.: Basse
Walter: Batterie
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal: Guitares / Invité
   
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READERS
4.8/5 (4 view(s))
STAFF:
4.8/5 (4 view(s))
MY RATING
 
 
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