For well over a decade, MONOLORD have been causing mass riff hypnosis with longform epics steeped in repetition, volume, and heaviness. From their headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, vocalist/guitarist Thomas Jäger, bassist Mika Häkki, and drummer Esben Willems have released five albums since 2013. Empress Rising, Vænir, Rust, No Comfort and Your Time To Shine, cemented their reputation for blending crushing fuzz with melodic undercurrents and immersive repetition. Now one of heavy music’s most consistent and beloved bands, MONOLORD are gearing up for their next chapter with a new album arriving in 2026 titled Neverending, produced by legendary engineer Sylvia Massy and released via Relapse Records.

Neverending is the product of meticulous honing and rearranging in order to create more succinct and immediate songs. “We felt like this isn’t really what people would call a doom album,” Jäger says. “It feels more like a mix of that and something new.”

In looking for a new take on the genre, MONOLORD decided to approach Sylvia Massy, known for her work with Tool, System of a Down, and Johnny Cash. Massy was interested and available. “She asked me to send her everything we had—not just songs written for the album, but every stray riff and idea,” Jäger says. “I even sent her stuff I’d written ten years ago. There was quite a lot of stuff, but she listened to all of it and sent us a list of what she wanted to work on.”

MONOLORD ended up rehearsing 12 songs for the album, 11 of which they recorded with Massy and eight of which appear on Neverending. “We went up to her studio in Ashland, Oregon, which is just above the California border,” Jäger says. “The scenery there is amazing, and the studio is cozy. The whole vibe was very relaxed.”

The payoff from this new process is undeniable. Neverending feels like the culmination of 13 years of heavy, molten music, with a keen eye towards creating a sharper album. “The recording of this album is an example of the spirit of MONOLORD’s camaraderie,” says Häkki. “We’ve looked back and seen for the first time how much we have done as a band collectively, and realized what an intense time the last 13 years have been.” Massy’s guidance dramatically shifted the way the band edited themselves and created a comforting space for what could otherwise be a stressful recording process.“The great songwriting of Thomas and the way the three of us can make that sound. It was very accurately captured by Sylvia. And that makes me curious about what the next chapter will be,” adds Häkki. Massy’s take on the band had an unexpectedly profound influence on the band, both compositionally and emotionally. “Sylvia’s impeccable attention to detail, her curious mind, her inspiring and uplifting approach to both us and our music,” says Willems. “I don't think I have ever felt as relaxed when recording as with Sylvia, she instantly made it feel like the safest place on earth when we arrived at her studio.”

Lyrically, Jäger didn’t have to look far for inspiration. The circumstances of his own life supplied plenty of material. “The lyrics on this album are more personal than before because I went through some major life changes in the last couple of years,” he says. “I usually write about religion and how people are superstitious, but this record is more about relationships between people. But it’s not all about me. Sometimes I’m writing from another person’s perspective.”

As such, the specific meanings behind the songs on Neverending are not set in stone. “It’s more open to interpretation now,” Jäger confirms. “What they mean to me might not be the same for Mika and Esben. Or anyone who listens to the album.”

Neverending’s lead single “You Bastard” offers listeners a sharp contrast: A propulsive groove offset by lyrics about suicide. “There’s two sides to suicide,” Jäger points out. “There’s the person who commits suicide and the people who gets left behind. The first two verses are in the voice of the person who commits suicide. The choruses represent the person left behind, and that person is calling the other a bastard because sometimes the people left behind get pissed off. But it’s not pointing fingers or saying, ‘You suck.’ It’s more like, ‘You left me here with all the bullshit.’ It’s an understanding that life is not easy.”

Though it might not be immediately obvious, album opener “Iodine” was inspired by 70s rock epics like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird,” The Eagles’ “Hotel California,” and Led Zeppelin’s “No Quarter.” “Even though it’s maybe not musically similar, I think the vibe is similar,” Jäger says. “And the opening riff is my tribute to Yob, because I’ve always really liked Mike [Scheidt]’s guitar playing. He does all these weird chords where his fingers are all over the fretboard at the same time. It’s for sure my favorite song on the album.”

“Oozing Wound” is a longer track in the traditional MONOLORD style, but with a twist. “It’s the first song we’ve done in a drop tuning,” Jäger reveals. “We usually play in B, but ‘Oozing Wound,’ ‘You Bastard,’ and ‘It’s Neverending’ are all drop A. Except for one part, ‘Oozing Wound’ is almost the same riff all the way through. It’s repetitive, but we do different stuff with it, like remove the guitar and have just bass and drums in parts and then remove rhythm guitar when I play the solo melody. The lyrics are about being stuck on a bad road, feeling trapped with someone who takes advantage of you.”

Album closer “It’s Neverending” is the first MONOLORD song that Jäger doesn’t sing on. Instead, the death-metal style vocals are performed by former Entombed bassist Jörgen Sandström, (also of Grave, Domedagen and Firespawn.) “I did the growling on the demo, but it took me forever to record.” Jäger says. “It was more like to illustrate the idea. But Jörgen’s voice is so powerful, and his performance on the song is really great.” The end result is a deathly-doom epic. “When we got the vocals finally in place, I remember I just bursted into laughter,” Häkki says. “That was just my sincere reaction to how happy that end result made me. Jörgen must have opened some new portal of some kind with those screams!”

13 years on, MONOLORD’s path takes a new turn, and Neverending becomes the band’s most befitting album title. “It's been a wild ride and still is,” says Willems. “I've spent a quarter of my life in this band, and that period of time when we kind of faded into existence back in 2013 feels both like last year and a lifetime ago. Looking back, I'm incredibly proud of what we've accomplished along the way, and in many ways, this album feels like the essence of everything we've done so far. My mindset is the same it's always been, to be the absolute best the three of us can be.”