Audio Mixer: Steve Albini.

Recording information: Electrical Audio Recording Studios, Chicago, IL (06/2008-11/2008).

Any band that's been around for a decade will show some progression, and Japan's majestic Mono is no exception. True to form, on the heels of 10 years of playing together, they've recorded their most elaborately orchestrated album yet. A sweeping, cinematic set of six songs, HYMN TO THE IMMORTAL WIND finds the band collaborating with a large chamber orchestra, lending them a dramatic gravitas that they could not achieve on their own. Songs like the gorgeous "Ashes in the Snow" wash over the listener with delicately placed textures that wax and wane, telling a story without words, but relying on mood and tone to broadcast incredible emotion. The somber, atypically short "Follow the Map" utilizes spare guitar and delicate piano to build tension until a crescendo of strings enters to carry it gently aloft. Though still rooted in rock, Mono's music has more in common with classical compositions at this point.