Welcome...
Here you will find one of the 'best kept secret' heavy metal legacies.
This site is dedicated to all that eat, live, and breathe music and heavy metal wether you are a fan, musician, or involved otherwise in the 'scene'... past, present, and future.
"Eventually, I got a hold of their tape and must say I'm pleased. The music is fairly impressive; good rhythms, good riifs, and lots of interesting sound effects. You could play this for someone and they would not know that this band was not signed."
WET INK form Jeremey Wernow - INK 19 magazine- Tampa, FL - Feburary 1995.
History:
There have been many Monoliths.
The first ever incarnation of a band using the moniker 'Monolith' began in 1989 in Tri-Cities Tennessee. In 1991 founders "Mad" Morgan Vicars - Guitar/Vocals and Danny Henson - Guitars linked up with Jim Galvin - Drums and the rest became history. The mid 90's lineup brought about noteable interim bassist Jeff Gouge - solid and talented. And last but definitely not least, the missing link- Toby "Wong" Roberts - Bass, featured on the live version of 'Habitual Abuse', featured here.
The summer of 1992 saw Monolith's first live performance at the State Theatre in Kingsport. The band's power was cut during mid-play. There was too much mayhem, cursing, and fog in the air that night for the bible belt emcee to digest. Order he wanted- the show was stopped briefly as the emcee ridiculed the audience for cursing. As the emcee cursed right back at the audience- tempers of many people flared. A riot almost ensued but fortunately order was restored with a short drum solo. The audience began chanting the band's name and up came the electricity. Later that night, Morgan, Monolith's future frontman was born as he retaliated. "Hey. Don't let nobody spoil your fun- MAN! We got a little rowdy, yeah, but hey... WE CAN STILL SLAM! ALLRIGHT?!!!!"
A cult-like following began shortly after, the band's self-titled track became the fans' anthem. Friendships formed with many metal heads, punk nuts, industrial and alterative fans, and local bands including: The Forgotten, Alter Grind, Punchin' Judy, and Carnival of Souls, among others. Interviews with a local jouralist after the first gig that night established notoriety throughout the Tri-Cities area. Word began to spread like wildfire about the band, their prerformance and what happened that night. Eventually the bands following spread in pockets throughout the underground of the era.
Monolith recorded and released the infamous 'Dawn of the Awakening' EP in the summer of 1993. With a small budget and a big vision, the power of three- Vicars/Henson/Galvin recorded, produced, and marketed an EP that still stands the test of time in its own right. Local Producer/Engineer Derwin Cartmel was able to masterfully capture the band's trademark sound- massive crunch with tuned down wide-body guitar tone. Arguably some of the thickest guitars of the time using single tracks for each instrument. Solid basswork filled out the middle, while pummeling bass drums and a poppy snare gave the EP a 'power death groove' feel. And the vocals... none in the state came close... up from the bowels and NO EFFECTS! One hundred professional quality cassettes w/artwork were sold within weeks at local record store in the small town of Kingsport, TN. As a three piece, Monolith did its best to capture the 'live' feel of their shows on the EP. The power of three could have used some clones back then for a completely 'live' recording.
The 1st annual Roadhouse metalfest in May 1993 had an awesome turn out. Tons of people in the tri-cities area came out and it was a one of the best shows that area has ever seen. Newly found bassist Toby Roberts hit the ground running in preperation, and his efforts paid off on the stage. The audience response to Monolith's performance was massive. Hundreds of people pitting and windmilling along with us was a sight to be seen. It was an honor to be part of the event for the cause and to share the stage with many great bands and styles including Morpheus, The Forgotten, Thin Line, and Alter Grind to name a few.
Shortly after in Knoxville TN, Monolith began getting its name out to the world. In 1993, Knoxville radio station WIMZ featured the song 'All Life Has Ceased' on their Tennessee Homegrown show. In 1994 a blurb with the INK 19 Fanzine based in Tampa, Florida propelled the band's name further. A video shoot with up and coming AV media journalist Sharon for the song 'Sometimes Dead Is Better' was to be brought to the forefront in Atlanta on local cable in 1996 (what ever happened to Sharon and the video remains unknown- she disappeared without a trace). And eventually Monolith got 'forearm ink' via a spot with Ironic Records in 1997. The song 'Sometimes Dead is Better' was featured on Hard Disc's first release- Ironic Compilation 1997. Each track on the compilation featured many styles and noteable 'unknown' artists in their own right including: Nine Spine Stickleback, Mindcage, Naphobia, and Timescape to name a few. The compilation was released in September 1997 in Tokyo, Japan.
With the addition of "Toby Wong" Roberts permanently on bass in 1997- the band continued to work on new material for a full length album. The newer songs were never released to the public but played live to their extremely loyal following. Caught in the middle of a constantly changing music scene, lack of resources and support to carry on locally or otherwise - Monolith reluctantly went into an indefinite hiatus in 2000.
Monolith was a band by the fans for the fans, and here we leave our legacy with you... the fans- past, present and future- stay true and stay metal! May no individual or label compromise your integrity.
-"Mad" Morgan, Danny, Jim, and Toby Wong
All songs © 1993 Monolithic Proportions. All rights reserved.
Monolith gets inked by skids / Comer Studios
