German band Monashee offer up an infectious fusion of downtuned guitars, rapped vocals and catchy choruses in an alternative metal sound that they describe as “powerful, emotional and playful” or, alternatively, “could be worse.”
The band, from the Koblenz region, between Köln and Frankfurt, first started out back in 2018/2019 and has evolved over the years, with the current lineup only locked in last year. Founding members Kevin Bohr (Kebo, rapped and shouted vocals) and Lucas Stein (drums and programming) were joined by Tobias Lorse (guitar) temporarily, but he never left, before completing the lineup with Steven Wimmer (guitar and vocals) and Jonas Leyendecker (bass).
And on the sound they’ve crafted, Lucas told us: “Honestly, we’ve never really figured that out ourselves. Usually, it’s just a minor riff on a downtuned guitar, with some synths, and then we throw in rap, cleans, or shouts – depending on the day. But all that together somehow leads to a powerful, emotional but also playful musical journey.”
To get a taste for this, the band sent us Oblivion, from last year’s EP, 4337. It opens up with synth sounds and drums before blasting into a vicious guitar riff over driving drums and a piercing synth sound. That continues as Kebo’s harsh vocals take over, then a big stabbing guitar riff supports more intense vocals that flow into vicious screams and wild guitars. It suddenly drops into a big singalong chorus, which ends with a cool synth sound that tees up another intense verse. Big downtuned guitars take over, alongside vicious vocals and funky synth sounds, teeing up a big final blast of the chorus.
On the track, Lucas told us: “The reception has been pretty moderate so far, but that’s okay — Oblivion was never meant to be the easy one. It’s the last single from our old line-up and for us, the closing chapter of Monashee 2025. Musically, it’s the hardest and most aggressive track from the last EP. Lyrically, it’s about destruction — exploiting the world, the darker sides of humanity, and the uncomfortable idea that we’re mostly doing this to ourselves. However, a music video in form of an artistic short story about the song and its background will be released in the next few days. Stay tuned!”
The EP opens up with the delicious opening track Fragile Heart before the intense Sphinx, which you can check out in the guitar and bass playthrough video below, and all three tracks have instrumental versions. And if you like the sound of that, the band’s 2023 album Speech is Silver // Silence is Guilt even more electro metal goodness, including personal favourites Sirens and Monster.
The Monashee sound has been influenced by everything that was on the radio back in the 1990s, combined with nu-metal and metalcore. As Lucas reveals: “We still randomly find ourselves singing Backstreet Boys in the rehearsal room.”
And on what inspires them to write music, he explains: “A lot of it comes down to coincidence. Of course, we’re influenced by other metal bands, but just as much by music outside the genre. And somehow, themes about being human always find their way in.”
Expect Monashee’s new music to sound slightly different as the band working on a completely new style that will be “deeper, poppier, but probably even more emotional.” And Lucas adds: “Don’t take it too seriously, because we don’t do that ourselves either.”
You can follow Monashee on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Listen to Monashee and more new bands on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Electro and GigRadar Metal
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