When I first discovered Mono a couple of weeks ago I was absolutely blown away by the first record in their latest double offering. Now I finally have the time to sit down and digest Rays of Darkness the brilliant sequel to The Last Dawn. As with The Last Dawn this instrumental long form music has captured my heart and taken me away to strange new worlds. With epic orchestrations and truly unique songwriting, Mono are creating something spectacular, of a sort that none of their peers could ever dream to touch on.
I think the bands ability to transition from the delicate to the earth shattering is a big part of why I love them so much. Sure there are gentle melodies and occasional acoustic parts here, but there are also epic and violent droning passages that seem intent on tearing the listener apart. Yet they somehow all manage to give off a similar vibe and make sure that listening to Rays of Darkness is a truly unique and beautiful experience. As you close your eyes and let this record really seep in it's easy to imagine yourself on a distant world, enjoying the rays of a sun that is not ours, and that violates all the laws of light.
In other words, Mono are innovators and geniuses of the highest degree. Our rules are not their rules, and they aren't going to be confined by any ideas of what we might decide to call 'music'. Instead Mono are going to shape tunes that will flow where they want and ebb into the listeners heart with no concern for whether you want them too or not. Rays of Darkness is monolithic and majestic, the kind of thing you can spin again and again. When paired with its prequel it only gets better, and ultimately proves that this band might just save the world.
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