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Drop your Shades, Throw it in Drive and Hit the Desert Highway !

Please welcome a new fuzzer in the team, Brant alias Mr. Spanners from the UK !

In my recent stumbling’s through the Internet in search of more of that sweet fuzz we all love so much, my ears came across a band called Monocluster. This Heavy-Psychedelic Fuzzed-out 4-piece that hail from Cologne in Germany has been ticking all the right boxes the more I listen to their massive, groove filled self-tilted E.P. that was released in September 2015 and despite not having a clue what the lyrics are (there in German), I’m now a big fan!

How is the sound ?

A sultry bass lick starts this album off, drawing you into a warm low fuzz only for the verse to drop in and absolutely rock you through to the bone on their first track “Dantes Inferno”. Filled with a heavy, driving riff, cut-throat vocals and a truly desert psych lead, this song set’s the tone for what’s to come.

As if you weren’t already pumped “8 Stunden” kicks it up a gear, grips you with a scorching vocal melody and throws you head first into a riff that just gets bigger and bigger until it’s carved right up the middle by a screaming lead with a well matched, text-book tone!

“Highway” was the first song by these German rockers to catch my ear. It’s beautiful ascending opening guitar riff that draws you to the punch, only to bring you right back down to that smooth fuzzy reverbed tone that had me reflecting on the sound’s of the early day’s of stoner rock. A great journey from one end to the other, filled with hypnotic lulls and a huge chunk of riffage this track has to be my favourite.

“Ich Atme” is like a serrated knife through the brain!! Charging on a massive bass sound, and dumped out heavy psych sections reminiscent of Kyuss’s monster track, Mondo Generator, big vox, big drums, big noise… The best kind! And a great prelude to Monocluster’s final track “12 Minuten”, a haunting ride and crash-filled tune that will grab you on multiple levels, and at 10 minutes and 15 seconds long, will have you wishing for that other 1 Minute und 45 Sekunden!!

Why is this album worth listening ?

The production is brilliant and has been mixed so well for the sound of this band that I can’t stop listening to it!

The pure rock vocals and well-placed transitions from massive riffage to trippy effect laden low’s makes this record flow brilliantly from start to finish!

You’ll want to learn to speak German!

In what situation you should listen to this album ?

Highway cruising in your ’69 Charger

Walking through the desert on the forbidden cactus!

Something particular to note ?

With a support slot coming up in March 2016 with the mighty “All Them Witches”, keep an eye out for these guy’s going places!