Monograf brings an artistic blend of post rock and dark folk to give a pre-apocalyptic cinematic soundtrack to their second full length album “Occultation.” Along with electric guitars, drums, and synths, they are armed with fiddle and nyckelharpa, a traditional Scandinavian keyed string instrument played by bow, giving an old-time finish to their sound. The album title means to place one object in front of another, a fancy term for an eclipse, that speaks to the world’s present darkness.

Monograf started back in the late 00s as Erik Aanonsen’s (Antestor) solo project. Blending post rock and Norwegian folk music, Erik attracted fellow musicians to form a band in 2013 and go on to play a number of shows over the years. After five years of writing and rehearsing, the band self-released their debut album “Nadir” in 2019, a solid full length album over a course of five tracks. Another six years of toil shows the folksy post-rock collective sharing another five tracks, but this time a shade darker.

“Occultation” sounds organic, earthy, and autumnal, like burning leaves in preparation for winter. Electric guitars and bass drive the heavy apocalyptic shadow while the nyckelharpa and fiddle transport me to some place hundreds of years and miles away, wandering in the woods with only old folk tunes to accompany me.

Their sound has a healthy dose of doom sensibilities with the rumbly guitar riffs that drive the songs, while the gentle fiddle and nyckelharpa give subtle folksy accents with amorphous treble leads providing a post-rock haze. The drums are an emotional extension of the music with intense fills elevating the heights and subtle accents to spread out valleys. The lead vocals are rather sparse, delivered in a pained yell/growl that could fit easily into a black or death metal outfit. Clean vocals come even more sparingly but add a haunting feel as they mesh well with the post-rock cloud. The songwriting has a cinematic style that requires a bit of patience from the audience. Musical ideas repeat immersing the listener as the band permutes with instruments coming in and out, slowly building up the intensity over the course of the song with progressive development sections.

The opener “The Prophet” is a great introduction to Monograf as the original musical riff sounds like a large dragon lumbering into view. I know that isn’t the subject, but it is what comes to mind. As the song progresses we hear a story line that alludes to the dragon before we catch the outro of the monster leaving. “Cripplegate” threads an enjoyable melody through the song and would feel quite at home among Antestor’s earlier folk-inspired songs. “Ashes” stands in contrast as a short melancholic folk song with clean vocals and guitar. Strings create a complementary melody as the song grows, but then a percussion snowstorm blows in and whitewashes the song for a bit before it blows off leaving plainly the outro strings of this sad song. It is a very odd effect, but an example of their cinematic storytelling.

“Carrion Seller” has bones similar to “The Prophet” with its patient growing, building, breaking down, playing with the pieces before bringing it all back together. I like the harsh vocals declaring, “broken” which is so powerful with the heavy riffs and drums underneath. The development section is also quite tasty as they play off of the underlying serpentine riff. Up to this point, the attitude has been largely pessimistic. “Occultation” is the last song and gives a glimpse of hope in the use of chords that feel empowering almost like a rallying cry to those who feel the darkness. More so than the previous songs, the song slowly shifts leading through enjoyable climbs to emotional heights and meditative expanses.

This is a hard album to peg, but the artful style resonates deeply with me. It does require patient listening to really enjoy or even get their music, a virtue that is not common nowadays, which might be the point. I imagine the prevailing melancholia is in grieving for the loss of a simpler life, personified in the stringed instruments, but it is not without hopefulness that blooms in the closing track “Occultation.” As autumn starts to give way to winter, I like this album as a soundtrack in preparation of the darkest time of the year when we will welcome the Light of the world at Christmas. If you made it this far, you should take that walk in the woods with “Occultation.”

Rating: 8.5/10

Written by Sean Bailey

Tracklist
1 – The Prophet
2 – Cripplegate
3 – Ashes
4 – Carrion Seller
5 – Occultation

Monograf is:
Erik Normann Sannes Aanonsen – vocals, guitars, nyckelharpa
Sunniva Molvær Ihlhaug – fiddle
Hanna Sannes Aanonsen – bass guitar
Erlend Markussen Kilane – drums
Martin Sivertsen Adams – electric guitar
Ingvill Trydal – synths

Release Date: November 14, 2025

Record Label: Overhead Productions (Nordic Mission)

Discography:
Nadir (2019)
Occultation (2025)

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Lyric video The Prophet