Review Summary: Cream of the cult.
Phobos Monolith is an unforgettable piece of music. This atmospheric black metal is vast and uncompromising as the cosmos. The blackest, bleakest atmosphere is presented from spacey shrieks, to absolutely crushing, waterfall canvas riffs. When listening to this you feel like you’re part of something big. A spectacular universe event is occurring before your eyes, and fittingly the drummer’s supernova blastbeats intrigue, along with the melodic sheen of the riff vortex.
Whether through skills of the instrument players, or the expansive noise permeating every corner, Phobos Monolith is an engrossingly monolithic effort. The experience still feels new after all these years. After all, Mare Cognitum’s production is spectacular, but the atmospheric tone of the guitar is the large pull. Guitars are icy space vessels using hyperspeed, great black metal riffs that perfectly coincide with the moody harsh vocals.
I’m starting to repeat myself, simply because the album’s spacey motif carries the album. The immediate punch felt in the earlier tracks is reduced later in the album, but the experience of listening to these tracks remains special. The mood remains persistently dark, with shrieks originating from the void of space. Both the production and instrumentation are sharply pointed and visceral, yet ambient textures throughout buff ever-present melodic guitars.
Phobos Monolith steps away from the mind numbing repetition you often find in atmospheric black metal. With new riffs and intriguing ambient sections, Mare Cognitum keep it fresh. The drum work is consistently incredible, and also incredible is how cohesive the album is. There’s a lot going on, but the music is entirely tangible. In the end, it’s an album that can bring together all types of black metal enthusiasts. Whatever your preferred style of the genre, Phobos Monolith has enough style to multiply its nuance far beyond typical, forgotten black metal releases.
