Some years ago, I reviewed Raum Kingdom’s first album, Everything & Nothing, which really impressed and made me want to see what else was out there in terms of sludgy post-metal. As part of my ongoing metal education, I have listened to many bands that would fall under the label of post-metal, even some out there on the far fringes of the genre. Somewhere along the spectrum of accessibility sits Raum Kingdom, a band whose abrasive sound and inherent bleakness makes me want to jump out of my skin, and their second album, Monarch, truly brings that to fruition.
First track “Red Admiral” is quite the opener, pushing you straight into the onslaught of heavy riffing, haunting vocals, and screams that come straight from the soul. There are times where a slight grunge influence bleeds through, especially in how fuzzy the atmosphere is and the play between harsh and unhurried clean vocals. It’s unsettling, dissonant, and suffocating, but there is still room to breathe before you continue listening onwards. Luckily for us, the second track, “Hairstreak” is a more subdued affair, although it still heightens the dread a notch with an uncomfortable and dissonant piano introduction. If you came to Monarch for comfort, there is none and no semblance of anything remotely close to joy to be found. Raum Kingdom are showing you the depths of their pain, of their agony, and I get the feeling this experience is not for us, per se, it’s for them.
Musically, Monarch continues in that dissonant, unsettling atmosphere: while the music can be mellow and have a certain degree of haziness, its heaviness permeates, soaking through the skin. The previously mentioned grunge influence also becomes incredibly prevalent, as the instrumentation begins to slowly clash together, becoming noisier as the album plays. For example, “Comma” uses vocals as the main melody, creating this catchy, repeating wall of sound that blocks everything else out – until you hear the backing screams and the urgent drumming creeping in. Then, just as quickly, “Gate Keeper” picks up on where “Comma” ended, employing a cacophony of well-placed feedback that very effectively blasts through your skull. It feels like you are standing close to an amp at a show where you can feel the sound waves coming at you. This interplay of dissonance and mellowness can be hard to keep up with, especially when you are expecting certain things from each song. Personally, I like that Monarch keeps a listener on their toes – it gives them an excuse to re-listen and revisit the sonic cues they may have missed on a previous listen, just like its predecessor.
Despite its brilliance, Monarch is an album about grief, about paying respects to those you have lost. Here, the band pays tribute to one of their members who died suddenly in 2021. His recordings are used here, giving life to a record whose oppression and bleakness is part of the grieving process. Even when pushing through an immense amount of grief, Raum Kingdom manages to up the ante from Everything & Nothing, giving more of themselves to their brand of sludgy post-metal. This album is a triumph and fully displays the depth and potential of the band, and I hope we get to see more of that in the coming years.
Monarch will be available January 27 on Argonauta Records. For more information on Raum Kingdom, visit their Facebook page.
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