“When On High,” Onhou Goes Extremely Low (Early Track Stream + Video)

Onhou's new album Monument packs surprising depths. Surprising not in the sense that it's unexpected–a cursory listen to their debut Endling will highlight the Dutch band's capacity for stomach-dropping doom–but surprising in the sense that their songwriting conceals just how heavy and pessimistic things are going to get. Take album opener "When on High," which we're premiering a video for below: after a drum intro that's, in hindsight, actually kind of upbeat, the song plunges into scream/bellow-laden sludge where each snare hit comes at an emotional cost. The band blends in synthesizer textures and pensive interludes, but the eight-minute primarily lurches from riff to spellbinding riff to tell their story.

The performance-focused video helps explain why this works so well, I think: the band, despite facing outward like they're making a last stand, are locked together in delivering this weighty missive and perform with practiced ease. Note how the vocalist and synth player is hand-crafting all the weird stuff that flows through the performance and vocals are shared duties: this is a performance-honed sound, not studio magic. Performed with raw zeal and featuring truly unsettling songwriting and massive (dare I say... monumental?) riffs, "When on High" is a satisfying venture into the experimental side of sludge and doom metal.

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The band comments:

When On High deals with losing to a callous adversary. Maddened by the denial of a future, this doesn’t feel like an end. This resolution is timeless but ferocious. Overcoming is an essential step for progress.

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Monument releases December 9th via Tartarus Records and Lay Bare Recordings.