Ultra Monark is the latest incarnation of Joe Albaense’s brilliance. Albanese has been a part or leader of many bands through the years – Four Living Creatures, Elder, and Fell Desire. All of these bands seem to favor the same formula: take every LS Underground album, every Scaterd Few album, and a few random Middle Eastern compilations, throw them in a blender, mix well, and enjoy. I know the blender analogy is cliché, but in this case it is really dead on. The sounds that influence Albanese are mixed so well that you end up with a sound all in its own category. And just like Elder took 4LC to the next level, and Fell Desire took Elder to a whole new level, Ultra Monark takes the “Albanese sound” to an even higher level. You can grab this album at BandCamp, but it seems that the band has changed names to Land of the Living. So who knows where they will go from here, but I am sure it will once again kick things to yet another, higher level.
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