Normally I’m always afraid of Japanese bands because they either sound too weird or in the case where they do attempt to play some straight-forward punkrock tunes, their English is often nearly unintelligible. Not so with Mono. These post-rockers continue to churn out one captivating album after the other and that is no different with “Hymn To The Immortal Wind”, their fifth full-length.
Based on a story by Heeya So, “Hymn To The Immortal Wind” tells of a boy and a girl who meet and then lose each other and then spend the rest of their lives trying to find each other again. Every chapter is translated to a song and while seven songs may not seem like much for a full-length, it actually is when songs are spun out into 10-minute long opuses.
Opener “Ashes In The Snow” starts off like a fairytale with lots of bells and a string arrangement (courtesy of the 30-piece orchestra that’s backing up Mono on this album) before a storm kicks up leading the song to a bombastic end after almost 12 minutes.
Always melancholic, never over the top. That seems to be Mono’s credo and they more than live by it on “Hymn To The Immortal Wind” with cuts like “Silent Flight, Sleeping Dawn” and “The Battle Of Heaven”. Post-rock fans around the world know what to do with their money!
Score: 9 out of 10
http://www.conspiracyrecords.com
http://www.mono-jpn.com
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