Monno
Germany · formed 1999 · last active 2013
Swiss experimental noise/drone outfit (later based partly in Berlin) built around Antoine Chessex's tenor saxophone skronk, Gilles Aubry's laptop electronics, and a bass/drums engine that pushes doom and sludge toward pure noise abstraction. Active roughly 2000-2013 across releases like Error, Ghosts, and Cheval Ouvert, they sit closer to noise-rock/free-improv lineages (Throbbing Gristle, Wolf Eyes, Lightning Bolt comparisons) than to conventional metal songwriting.
SCORE PROFILE
Accent numbers counted towards the index. Hover an axis — or hold it on a phone — for what it means.
WHY THOSE SCORES
- Jazzy 5 — Antoine Chessex's tenor saxophone (played through guitar amps) is a lead instrument throughout, tagged 'Avant-Garde Jazz' alongside the metal tags (Discogs artist page quoted via search, discogs.com/artist/572362-Monno; idiosyncratics.limitedrun.com release page).
- Glitch 6 — Gilles Aubry's laptop/electronics create 'infinite loops of electronic madness' and 'implacable synth manglings' (idiosyncratics.limitedrun.com Cheval Ouvert release page).
- Doom 5 — Genre-tagged sludge/doom, with a 'rock solid wall' of heavy bass-and-drums weight (idiosyncratics.limitedrun.com Cheval Ouvert release page).
- Drone 7 — Tagged Drone Metal on Discogs; reviewers describe walls of sustained, repetitive noise with minimal riff movement (discogs.com/artist/572362-Monno via search; idiosyncratics.limitedrun.com).
- Ambient 3 — Described as immersing listeners in a 'brutal typhoon of intense abstraction' via sustained atmospheric noise (idiosyncratics.limitedrun.com Cheval Ouvert release page).
MEMBERS
- Marc Fantinidrums
- Derek Shirleybass
- Gilles Aubryelectronics, vocals, laptop
- Antoine Chessextenor saxophone
CONNECTIONS
- James Plotkinpath →
Monno's 2013 album 'Cheval Ouvert' (Idiosyncratics) was mastered by James Plotkin. source ↗
- Boris (drone/doom era)path →
Shared label roster: Conspiracy Records, per MusicBrainz. source ↗
FURTHER LISTENING
Nearest score profiles in the atlas.
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- UnaffiliatedEI 23ZonalDroneGlitchDoom
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Ghostmass (大鬼眾) is a Beijing improvisation collective formed in 2021 from a shared passion for drone, doom, and extreme metal, filtered through harsh noise and free improvisation. Reviewer Michael Scharf (Outside Noise) describes their 2024 album 'Ghost Meditation' as evolving from chaotic noise toward a more structured, doom-metal-inspired sound, with anguished throat-singing-style vocals over grating feedback and power electronics. The lineup draws members from Beijing noise-rock scene acts Carsick Cars and Soviet Pop.
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Nazoranai is an improvising power trio formed in 2011 by Keiji Haino (guitar, vocals, synth), Stephen O'Malley of Sunn O))) (bass) and Oren Ambarchi (drums), issuing its self-titled live debut on O'Malley's Ideologic Organ imprint in 2012. The name signals a stance against pure free improvisation, favoring a more deliberate approach as the trio moves from sparse, post-industrial landscapes into huge firestorms of riff and distortion. Its genesis traces to a 2006 introduction between Haino and O'Malley via Ambarchi.