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Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind CD (album) cover

HYMN TO THE IMMORTAL WIND

Mono

 

Post Rock/Math rock

3.82 | 151 ratings

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BatBacon
2 stars "Hymn to the immortal wind" is ironically an a bit overblown album, but I always thought of it as "Okay" in the background while sleeping. At least a nice substitute for Sigur Rós (thats a crazy idea, there is no such thing!) or Godspeed you! Black Emperor. But today I made the huge mistake to pay a bit attention to the immortal wind and actually listen to it. I found that the album is missing two important things, the first is good songwriting and the second is a decent drummer. I've listened to progressive rock for several years now and even though many of my favorite albums are "progressive", many of the classic albums of this "genre" has a bit of a problem with separating epic songwriting from good, inspirational songwriting. They are not necessarily the same thing, which Mono is making a fine example of with this album.

Seven songs, over an hour of music, but nothing here is very memorable or touching. The ideas behind the album seems to have been to write the most beautiful, sad and epic songs on the planet and the first five minutes of the first song you actually believe that they will. It starts off sooooo fantastic, you really can't put it into words. Sad but beautiful guitar playing, an outstanding and very emotional string arrangement, everything slowly builds up to the epic climax of the song. The problem is that it never stops building, like they ran out of ideas for this part. It just goes on and on and nothing really happens. It sounded so very promising in the beginning, but the only climax we get is when the drummer releases his great rhythmic powers over his drum kit in a fantastically technical performance. I guess thats how the drummer likes to see it, anyway. In reality its goes so wrong you really can't believe your ears.

When a drummer just tries to score points with advanced fills without listening to the song, the rhythm or the mood, the song dies like a fly on a windshield. Yasunori Takada should have done something like the drummer of pop group Glasvegas or Mumford and sons, a simple, marching rhythm with a lot of emotion and power, something to give the song a lift without putting itself in center of the song. No one can be Neil Peart in a Godspeed-ish song, it would make no sense. Especially not this drummer who really can't pull off any of the stunts he takes on.

After the first song you might think the next would be better. Its not. Different song, exactly the same idea - "lets play this sad but beautiful guitar melody for about ten minutes while the string section slowly builds up to the songs great climax with epic drumming and loud sounds". One song like this is okey, but two in a row? To tell you the truth, all of the songs on the album is like this. A great build up to an epic final that never, ever comes. Track number five is my favorite from the album, because its only four minutes and still its just as "epic" as the ten minute songs.

I guess its hard to make instrumental albums that keep the listener interested whole the way through, but this is certainly not how to do it. I think some vocals could have helped them, because now the song haven't got own identities. Its more like "epic song 1", "epic song 2"... and so on. Also, don't go for the epic stuff without ideas for it. The classic prog albums are considered "classic" for great songwriting, not epicness. Thats just one really great thing to spice up the songs with. But without a good song (and great rhythms) epicness is nothing at all. Dry, boring and very very mindless.

BatBacon | 2/5 |

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