„Rays of Darkness is the first MONO album in 15 years to feature no orchestral instruments whatsoever. That fact alone is remarkable given the band’s reputation for sweeping, dramatic instrumentals that recall Oscar-worthy film scores. Instead, Rays of Darkness more closely resembles a jet engine taking off inside a small, crowded auditorium. It is MONO’s blackest album ever, a collection of scorched riffs, doom rhythms, and an unexpected contribution from post-hardcore pioneer Tetsu Fukagawa of Envy. The album ends with the smoldering wreckage of distorted guitars and ominous drones playing out a eulogy to the days when MONO shot blinding rays of light through seemingly endless darkness.“
(Selbstcharakterisierung mit hohem Zutreffendheitsgrad)
MONO site
„The Last Dawn is the first of these two companion albums, and is the „lighter“ of the two, thematically and melodically. It contains undoubtedly some of MONO’s strongest songs ever, drawing on an array of influences from minimalist film score to vintage shoegaze. It is MONO at their absolute purest, executing an uncanny, unspoken dialogue with each other without the dozens of stringed instruments that have been so prominent throughout their catalog. The songs are also noticeably more efficient – there hasn’t been a MONO full-length record to fit on a single slab of vinyl since 2003’s One Step More And You Die – and the album benefits immeasurably from this streamlined approach. MONO have always been masters of telling compelling without words. But now they’ve proven they can do it without frills, too.“
VIDEO RAYS OF DARKNESS
VIDEO RECOIL, IGNITE
MONO
Takaakira Goto (electric guitar, glockenspiel)
Hideki Suematsu (electric guitar, glockenspiel)
Tamaki Kunishi (bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, glockenspiel)
Yasunori Takada (drum kit, glockenspiel, synthesizer)
MONO coming MONO coming, MONO again, againg, aagaiingg
13/12 BERLIN
14/12 KÖLN
15/12 KARLSRUHE
16/12 MÜNCHEN