Review
30,000 Monkies
Somewhere Over The Painbow

Somewhere between rock, stoner, sludge and noise, 30,000 Monkies manage to find a point of equilibrium and they are now unleashing their latest EP, Somewhere Over The Painbow. The malice of the Melvins merges with the spirit of Sonic Youth to bring four songs that will leave you stunned. With their furious sound, heavy riffs and relentless groove, this release is an unexpected surprise for fans of heavy experimental music. 

The destructive start of “Imperial Staches” kicks things off in a very impressive manner, a bit reminiscent of earlier Mastodon works, laying waste before 30,000 Monkies let their groove unfold and forcing you to lose yourself within the dynamics of the track. “Amazones” continues on the same path, with the band building a towering groove, while sending your way small pieces of ear candy in order to get you completely hooked. The song grows exponentially more and more aggressive with the great vibe, crafted by the impressive rhythm section, devouring everything in the band’s path. And when the track closes on its end, 30,000 Monkies are letting all their weight overwhelm you by creating earthquakes in the sonic domain. Seriously the whole structure seems to be brought down on your head in the last thirty seconds of the track.

“Czarring” takes on a stranger incarnation. The track is stripped down in quite a few moments to the bare bones: that is the drums and bass along with the vocals. The vibe of the track is once again amazing, showing that 30,000 Monkies really know how to craft the vibe of a track, while the malice spread by the vocal lines is truly unforgettable. The heavier riffs still make an appearance, with the noise influences swoop in a quite unexpected way, about three minutes in, while the clapping somehow manages to retain a sense of rhythm within the chaos. The track is led to its inescapable and devastating end of complete sonic annihilation with the huge guitars once again causing the sonic structures of the band to tremble. 

Still, 30,000 Monkies have one last surprise up their sleeve, and that is the closing track of the album, “Batteram.” Spanning for over thirteen minutes, it starts off things with an almost spiritual quality mesmerizing you while the slow tempo and interesting instrumentation show the depths to which this band is able to reach. The sludge nature of the band is used to complete destroy the sonic landscapes that 30,000 Monkies have been building, while the noise influence are presenting you the wreckage of this sonic assault. An underlying sickness is prevalent in the ambiance of the track, not allowing any ray of hope to enter. There are times when the band is implementing more straightforward ideas and leaving behind their minimalistic disguise. Of course 30,000 Monkies can travel to the other extreme as well, with a hybrid drone/sludge sound rising to the surface amidst the face melting feedback coming from the amps. The huge reverb on the snare makes an appearance when the drums are brought into the spotlight, and is completely out of this world. The way that the band manages to retain a mystical setting and at the same time unleash all their weight is absolutely amazing, causing confusion and mayhem with their twisted ideas. 

With an EP like Somewhere Over The Painbow, only one question comes to mind: When is the next full-length going to be out?