For all that we have available at our fingertips, I think we’re pretty blessed in the realms of all things related to doom metal when it comes to the quality and vast scope that we have to choose from at any given time. Of all the names out there, Monolord’s has been one that has become quite ubiquitous when it comes to the modern state of the sound whether you like it or not, especially when it comes to the corner of the genre where they’ve grown quite a large reputation over the years. It’s barely been two years since their last full-length, “Your Time to Shine”, and it’s now with a fresh creation that they’ve returned to keep their status even if this offering is one of their shortest.

Given their consistent release schedule since their inception, I think many of us were expecting a new creation from Monolord this year sooner or later, but I have to be honest in saying that I wasn’t expecting it to come in the form of an EP. Beggars cannot be choosers, however, and I’m certainly not complaining about this offering no matter how brief it might be. Keeping things pretty standard for their sound but still managing to craft it in such a way that leaves you plenty satisfied despite its mere 12-minute runtime, “It’s All the Same” is an EP whose title I implore you to not apply to the music itself. I can already hear people doing just that when they lay their eyes upon this work, and while it is far from the most expansive or most impressive creation that Monolord has delivered to us, “It’s All the Same” has more than enough for it to stand on its own two feet without a shred of compromise. A pair of tracks that bring together melancholy, heaviness, passion, and fuzzed-out riffs that are all but implied whenever Monolord comes around, these six-minute morsels are delightful treats to not just lose yourself in but return to time and again. “It’s All the Same” carries with it the benefit of being a creation of Monolord that makes it more than enough for people to investigate, and while there’s more than a bit to enjoy here, there’s no escaping the fact that this EP is but a small stop between “Your Time to Shine” and whatever full-length Monolord has been cooking in the time since.

It would be incredibly egregious of me to say that “It’s All the Same” is another wild edition of Monolord’s power and prowess in all things doom metal since this feels like a mere sampling of their talent that leaves you wanting more, but in no way are either of these tracks worthy of the unfortunate fate of being tossed to the side simply because they’re not accompanied by more. This is a quick moment in the race to Monolord’s climb to royalty in the modern landscape of the sound, but in no way does that make it any less worthy of your attention.

LISTEN to “It’s All the Same” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Monolord on Facebook here.