The Psychotic Monks

Based in Paris, the Psychotic Monks play a style that is built on industrial tones and a good amount of noise mixed in with a relatively harsh post-punk sound in ways that bears basic similarities with bands like Mandy, Indiana and Gilla Band. Their pounding primal beats, big, screechy riffs, and overall unsettling feel may also bring Swans to mind. They are not strictly an avant-garde band, but they do play with some of those ideas, especially with their fragmented flow and apparently hellscape inspired sound effects. Their songs vary in length quite a bit, and once they hit one of their hypnotic grooves, they can also push the running time of their songs towards the 7-minute mark through dramatic turns and cathartic peaks. Their work is very clearly dark and intense, and remains deliberately sparse on light moments.