Best New Atlanta Music: From Exile – “Monolith” LP
After playing their last show in 2007, From Exile headed into the studio to begin working on their second record. During the arduous two year process, the 5-piece act that had once been drawing hundreds of people to house shows on the west side disintegrated, leaving only the core duo of Eric Guenther and Ben Wetzelberger behind to pick up the pieces. Rather than becoming frustrated and falling apart, the two remaining members used the situation as an opportunity to reinvent themselves into something far greater. They were able to fully focus on pursuing their personal vision and created a phenomenal album that delivers on all of the vast potential many of us had seen for a long time.
While I enjoy a lot of music in the general spheres of metal and prog, I find the rigid nature of those genres stylistically often constrains the elements of music I value most. The primary attention to technical prowess and excessively complex compositions dominates those scenes and their almost athletic, competitive nature leaves very little room for good songwriting or taking artistic chances. It’s ironic that a genre called “progressive” seems so relatively conservative in today’s musical landscape.
But lately there seem to be more and more innovators in the general umbrella of metal that are pushing things forward, and that especially appears to be true locally. Bands like Mastodon and Baroness have been able to break down some sonic barriers of the genre, and From Exile are pushing those boundaries even further. If there is one thing that Monolith excels at more than any other, it is how perfectly it manages to extract everything great about prog and metal without retaining any of the bullshit.
That’s not to say that this record doesn’t shred and showcase some very impressive chops, but there is a tastefulness and a restraint to the way they utilize the enormous talent at their disposal that I’ve rarely heard in such epic music. In lieu of having a band around them, the From Exile duo turned to fellow Atlanta metalists Daath, and in addition to Monolith being co-produced by Eyal Levi, both he and Emil Werstler have guest solos and the drums throughout are done by Kevin Talley. Even Tealights‘ Mary Knight dropped some cello on the recording. The extremely able supporting cast around the band is implemented in a way that enhances and compliments their strengths, and in the end this record is a success on just about every facet you can measure.
From Exile are streaming the entire album at their website, so go check it out for yourself.
Here are a couple of studio videos of the making of Monolith:
- Posted by Davy Minor on December 1, 2009 at 4:33 am
One Response to “Best New Atlanta Music: From Exile – “Monolith” LP”
-
Mobilize Says:
December 1st, 2009 at 4:46 am
One word…. BRUTAL!!
Post a comment.
-
Mobilize Says:
December 1st, 2009 at 4:46 am
One word…. BRUTAL!!
