photos by Melissa Petisa
“…punishing, gritty, DM beholden to the thrash-scorched formative days, yet retaining a modern approach to technique and tone.” – Decibel Magazine
The Calling Of Fire, the merciless debut from emerging extreme/death metal outfit BLOOD MONOLITH – formed by members of Nails, Undeath, Ulthar, Genocide Pact, and other notable bands from across the extreme metal underground – is now streaming ahead of its release this Friday on Profound Lore Records.
Formed in 2023 by guitarist/vocalist Shelby Lermo (Nails, Ulthar, ex-Vastum), the goal of BLOOD MONOLITH was to create something even uglier, weirder, and more aggressive operating out of his new home base in the Washington DC/Northern Virginia area. Guitarist Tommy Wall (Undeath) joined Lermo, and the music for the band’s debut LP was soon written. The addition of bassist Nolan (Genocide Pact, Shitstorm) and drummer Aidan Tydings-Lynch (Deliriant Nerve, Brain Tourniquet) rounded out the lineup.
BLOOD MONOLITH’s location ties deeply into their sound, as this epicenter of mass murder and corruption provides constant fuel for boiled-down anger, as well as a rich history of rebellion through music. The album’s title, The Calling Of Fire, invokes the internal and external summoning of rage to spit in the face of that seemingly unstoppable, towering evil, and the sonic excess within lands like a broad-daylight assassination.
Their unique and unconventional concept and aesthetic sets BLOOD MONOLITH apart from the plethora of interchangeable death metal bands currently inhabiting the scene, and their music is miles beyond them as well. There is a DIY mindset and ethic present, but despite the punk and grindcore pedigree of its members, BLOOD MONOLITH plays crazed death metal of the highest order, influenced as much by classics like Morbid Angel and Cannibal Corpse as modern innovators like Defeated Sanity and Dead Congregation.
Engineered by Shelby Lermo and Matt Michel (Goetia, Left Cross, Antichrist Siege Machine) who also mixed the tracks, mastered by Adam Tucker at Signaturetone Recordings (Ulthar, Maul, Obsequiae), and adorned with cover art by legendary Rudimentary Peni frontman Nick Blinko, The Calling Of Fire is a testament to all things musically frenzied and extreme, a brutally succinct statement of nihilism in a world beyond salvation.
Stream BLOOD MONOLITH’s unforgiving The Calling Of Fire early now only at YouTube RIGHT HERE.
The Calling Of Fire will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats this Friday, May 16th. Preorders for all formats of the album can be placed HERE.
“…punishing, gritty, DM beholden to the thrash-scorched formative days, yet retaining a modern approach to technique and tone. Let’s just hope that this is not a one-off, as BLOOD MONOLITH has the potential to make a significant dent in the scene.” – Decibel Magazine
“…supremely deviant and sonically devastating…’Prayer To Crom’ plays out as a menacing bone-breaker of vintage OSDM bomb-blasts, detuned savagery and whimsically grotesque gutturals…the song hits like a bloodthirsty Cimmerian warlord crushing enemies out on the battlefield.” – Revolver Magazine
“…BLOOD MONOLITH understands that death metal should bring devastation above all else, and they deliver a brutally efficient, riff-centric package of violence that leaves little or no room to get comfortable. After all, life’s too short for easy listening death metal.” – Last Rites
“…violent from the moment you hit play…” – MetalSucks
“…a spine-tingling and head-spinning delivery of chaos. Abyssal roars slowly and malignantly vent the words while the guitars pulsate in mad fevers, the bass rumbles like subterranean earthquakes, and the drums go nuts.” – No Clean Singing
“If you need a complete aural ass beating this morning, look no further… BLOOD MONOLITH is coming out of the gate violent as hell…” – Metal Injection
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