Throughout the darkest reaches of the underground, the sense of terror, claustrophobia, presences that are nothing short of utterly oppressive, and everything else the mind can conjure in bottomless fear are present should you simply find yourself in the right (or wrong, depending on how you look at it) corners of the dark halls that few souls travel down when venturing through the underground. There are always more than a few acts out there that dare to bring such elements into their music with there, of course, being varying levels of success with some managing tinges of blasphemy that feel little more than cheap imagery while some find themselves steeped in those themes, wholly consumed by all it can become. Onhou is a name that is far from well-seasoned in that darkness with their debut album just a few years ago showing us the band was onto cracking that very code, but it is with the follow-up that we see Onhou become a different beast altogether.

The sheer sense of the universe crushing down on you from all angles with no escape possible nor any hope to be gained no matter how much you may struggle is a sensation that some would claim as peak terror in the world of doom and sludge where honestly nothing is held back nor anything left to chance with even the smallest shreds of light being choked out before leaping into freedom. As such, it takes incredible talent and the capacity to reach such depravity to bring such a vision to life in exquisite detail and Onhou has never been far from being a name that demanded respect as ever since their debut, Onhou has done a splendid job at bringing such madness and darkness to life. But, a change was coming the likes of which I thought we saw done wondrously in 2019’s “Endling”. And yet, it’s with everything that’s brought to the table in the four tracks and 41 minutes of “Monument” that we see Onhou take everything to an entirely new level. The very words “bleak”, “claustrophobic”, and “apocalyptic” are but the very beginnings of what has been delivered in this performance as not only has Onhou crafted a maddening effort that builds upon everything they’ve done before this, it’s all been perfected! Right down to the very keys on the synths and the greyscale on the album’s cover art, this is an adventure through torture and constrictive, claustrophobic sludge that holds nothing back in its offensives upon the very soul of the listener with there being no hope, innocence, or glimmer of freedom in the dark clutches of Onhou with every step that went into the crafting of this record.

Brought together with supreme competency and an ear for capturing the human soul with undeniable darkness, it all makes for an eviscerating and unyielding creature that seeks only blood upon the walls and to leave a world devoid of anything good or hopeful with the final result of “Monument” an utterly monolithic creation whose power nor terror is to be underestimated for one you find yourself in its shadow, you’re caught ever to be subjugated to Onhou’s will. If this is what happens when Onhou truly comes into their own with their particular brand of chaos then I can only imagine what happens when they transform into undeniable veterans of the chaos of the silent darkness of the underground where real terror lies.

“Monument” releases on December 9th via Tartarus Records and Lay Bare Recordings!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Monument” on Bandcamp here or via YouTube below.

LIKE Onhou on Facebook here.