Doom-Metal.com: Ikonboardterminallydoomed, Oxfordshire, England, March 2005
Fuck me, the Congregation never cease to amaze me. They managed to totally mix up all their past sounds with this album! It has the overpowering misery (as usual) along with the beauty of An Epic Dream . . . , theatmosphere of Tears From A Grieving Heart, the epic proportions of The Epitome . . . . and the droning funeral march of A Slow March . . . . .
The album is more like a compilation as the sonsg aren't all new, they were written between 1994 and 2004.
They manage to make all the songs stand out from one another, I couldn't pick a favourite although the acoustic track- When The Weeping Dawn Beheld Its Mortal Thirst is awesome (think An Epic Dream Of Desire played in the style of Miriam). The first two tracks were also really great, they had me welling up a little bit actually.
The last track The Monad Of Creation is I think the track which reminded me most of the older work. Although it does have 2 Skepticism- esque passages with a huge organ sound lunging over the music, which at first I didn't think fitted the MC sound, but grew on me quickly. This is my least favourite track on the album but it's still bloody marvellous.
Basically, I can't recommend this album enough to everyone. Especially the fans of the older work (I don't think the two samples on their website do the album justice. It has to be heard as a whole). It's more than I had hoped for and strengthened my belief that MC are in fact, the best band to ever have existed!
Kudos also goes to Weird Truth & Co for the beautiful packaging.
I look forward to the next MC release (let's hope it's not too long a wait).
Jeez, I don't think I've ever had so much to say in my life.
Doom-Metal.com Reviews
The Monad Of Creation CD/ 2LP 2005
Weird Truth/ Painiac
Originally supposed to be released in late 2003, Mournful Congregation's latest is finally released on CD and 2LP by their standard release channels, Weird Truth and Painiac.
The Album contains four tracks, together clocking over 60 minutes, written between 1994 and 2003. The majority of the tracks are from the previous millennium, which means that the songs are more reminiscent of the material on Tears From A Grieving Heart than their recent split with Stabat Mater.
I can characterise this album as having a feel similar to the last album, but with a vastly higher quality. To begin with, the musicianship has improved considerably. Older tracks sometimes had a little off-beat playing, some out-of-tune acoustics here and there, that sort of thing. Nothing disastrous in itself, but these elements are now completely absent. To top it off, the production is crisp, and it has a great bass-heavy overtone.
But, right now, I'll stop dispensing the more mundane information, as this masterpiece - and that it is - deserves a much more in-depth treatment.
Mother Water, The Great Sea Wept is the first stage, and a true musical epic. A long track even for doom (over 18 minutes) it showcases a recognisable Mournful Congregation sound, great riffs and melodies, and wonderful lyrics, with parts taken from Homer's Iliad and H.M. Blavatsky's The Book of Dzyan. It's about the Sea and Moon, and trying to visualise them while the music crashes like waves upon your shores isn't that difficult.
Up next is As I Drown In Loveless Rain, lyrically a more 'traditional' piece about a love that is not returned. Written in its entirety in 1994, this is a piece from the very beginning of the Congregation, but it is certainly different and much more advanced than the songs on Weeping. 11 minutes of yummy heavy guitar slowness and sad lead melodies.
When The Weeping Dawn Beheld Its Mortal Thirst is the obligatory acoustic track that features on each Mournful Congregation album. It consists of a normal backing, but only acoustic guitars as lead. Comparable to Empirical Choirs, but much, much better in execution! Lyrically this is a profound spiritual contemplation and a prayer to "The Transcendental". This is one of those songs where the spiritual themes of this band stand out in a wonderful way. The song ends with two minutes of warped prelude to the final and title track of the album.
And there it is, almost 21 minutes in length, The Monad Of Creation. A hymn to the very filament with which the universe is sown together. Here and there, a real Skepticism-vibe pops up, which is a nice surprise and a great development. This song contains some of the best melodies I've ever heard in doom metal, so that should give you an indication of how good it is.
I think I could go on for hours about this album, but I have to call it quits at some point, so let's make it now. When push comes to shove, there are good albums, great ones, and ones that transcend into lonely heights, where only 'classics' can reach. Perhaps this one may not be accessible enough to appeal to all (doom) metal fans and become known enough to be a recognised classic. It is and will remain a classic to me, though, as this is simply one of the best albums in doom in the past few years, and one of the very best I've ever heard. I can't do anything but recommend this to everyone who reads this.
Reviewed by: Oscar Strik
Transcending The Mundane: Reviews
Mournful Congregation- The Monad Of Creation 2005
Country: Australia Genre: Death Metal, Doom Metal
Australia’s Mournful Congregation has been obscure, even by doom standards. Formed in 1993, they recorded three demos throughout the 90’s. These were collected on the 2002 Weird Truth Productions double release, The Dawning of Mournful Hymns, which marked Mournful Congregation’s first commercial release. Editions were also released on Painiac records. With both of these labels being pretty small and obscure themselves, Mournful Congregation has still remained under the radar of most doom fans. The Monad of Creation is technically their first commercial release of previously unavailable music. However, even these songs have been around awhile, with the music being written between 1994 and 1999, and recorded in 2003. So Mournful Congregation’s process of getting their music released matches the slowness of their music.
But regardless of time and place, this is doom of the highest quality. If they had to be categorized, Mournful Congregation would seem to end up about halfway between the doom/death style of My Dying Bride in their raw beginnings (As the Flower Withers era) and the funeral doom style of Evoken, Disembowelment, Thergothon, etc. The tracks are long and drawn-out with barely-moving tempos and pauses similar to the funeral doom style. However, there are no keyboards or symphonic elements usually associated with funeral doom. Mournful Congregation set themselves apart by relying on MDB-style mournful twin-guitar harmonies. The ample use of lead guitar adds a sad feeling that power chords by themselves can’t always achieve.
Despite the enticement of lead harmonies, this is still a challenging listen, with sprawling arrangements that occasionally shift into quiet passages and rumbling aggressive passages. When the Weeping Dawn Beheld Its Mortal Thirst succeeds by using a normal background while the lead instruments are all acoustic. The vocals are mostly the subterranean, completely unintelligible death-groan of funeral doom, with some spoken word segments that work because the Australian accent is just enough to lend mystique to the words but not heavy enough to cause distraction. The recording is powerful and bass-heavy, giving clarity to all frequencies while still retaining a spare and desolate feel.
As I Drown In Loveless Rain appears to mourn an unrequited love (the lyrics were written in 1994) while the other three tracks are more spiritual and philosophical in tone. They seem to be grasping for some kind of universal transcendence and oneness with nature that always eludes the living mortal, resulting in the pain, depression, and lingering emptiness that always threatens to consume us. Obviously, this sentiment is not going to be embraced or understood by everyone, but for any listener of doom, this is highly recommended.
Album Score: 9 out of 10
Reviewed by: Dave Smith