• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

November 2024

• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

October 2024

• Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
• DGM: Endless
• Daytona: Garder la Flamme
• Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
• Frost*: Life In The Wires
• Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
• Fans Of The Dark: Video
• Radioactive: Reset
• House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
• Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire

September 2024

• Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
• Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
• Eclipse: Megalomanium II
• SteelCity: Reverence
• Hydra: ReHydrated
• Heartwind: III
• Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
• Find Me: Nightbound
• The Nail: The Nail
• Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
• Stryper: When We Were Kings
• Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
• Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
• Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly

August 2024

• Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
• Paralydium: Universe Calls
• Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
• Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
• All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
• Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2

[ More Music Reviews ]

Ethereal Architect: Monolith

Progressive Metal

4.5/5.0

Website Facebook YouTube
Unsigned/Self-released
by Craig Hartranft,  07.13.2012

Ethereal Architect's second album is aptly titled. Monolith is an immense work, and I'm not just speaking to the length which, with bonus materials, is nearly 70 minutes. How these four musicians pack so much into a song is rather impressive.

Ethereal Architect : monolithic, baby.

Of course, everything's bigger in Texas, the band's home. While the songs can be elaborate and technical, as Bardo Becoming and Obsidian assure, the can also rather catchy and melodic as Mercury and Revolutions prove. The strength here is the strong compositions, the breathtaking guitar work of David Glass, and the powerful and versatile vocal style of Adam Contreras. If you get the digital version of Monolith, you'll find Oceanos, sung in Spanish and touches of Latin flair. You'll also hear some of this in the guitar outro for Mercury. Of interest is the cover of Jimmy Webb's MacArthur Park, butchered by actor Richard Harris, but made famous by Andy Williams. The song, while having atrocious metaphors for lyrics, has a great melody and arrangement. Ethereal Architect makes a prog metal version work, and makes it entertaining.

At the end of the day, Ethereal Architect's Monolith is simply very well composed and executed progressive metal, without conforming to traditional expectations. Easily recommended.

Ethereal Architect's Monolith is simply very well composed and executed progressive metal, without conforming to traditional expectations. Easily recommended.

Alphabetical Index

eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]