Monolord

In the black metal stronghold of Gothenburg, the psych-blasted sludge-metal outfit Monolord came together in 2013, centered on the skills of Thomas V Jäger handling vocals and guitars, Esben Willems on drums, and Mika Häkki providing bass. Their first album, Empress Rising, came out in 2014 through Riding Easy Records, earning acclaim across various web publications and climbing swiftly to the summit of Bandcamp's doom rankings. Vaenir, their second full-length, followed in 2015, prompting an intense period of performances across Sweden and internationally. Rust marked their third studio release in 2017, again issued by Riding Easy. By 2018, the band had secured a recording contract with Relapse Records. Their debut project under this new label, No Comfort, the fourth studio album overall, appeared in September 2019 and reached the 20th position on the Billboard Independent Albums chart.