MONO INC. Ravenblack | The return of the German crows

In 2000 Martin Engler (drums, composer and producer), Carl Fornia (guitar) and Miky Mono (vocals) relaunched their previous project, Mono69, as Mono Inc.

• In 2003 Manuel Antoni joined as bass player, completing the quartet and producing their debut album ‘Head Under Water’, which was rejected by all the major labels.
• Therefore the band decided to create their own independent label, NoCut.

Before releasing their 2nd album in 2006, ‘Temple of the Torn’, the vocalist left the band and Martin Engler took over, being replaced on drums by Katha Mia.

Their third album, ‘Pain, Love and Poetry‘, hit the gothic scene in 2008, incorporating Katha Mia on vocals.

• The band was becoming increasingly popular and their following was growing steadily.
• They started posting videos chronicling each day of their tour on Mono Inc TV 📺, which still exists today and has millions of views.

In 2009 the album ‘Voices of Doom’ was released, and a year later Mono Inc. would go on their first headlining tour.

Mono Inc.

Tragically, founding member Miky Mono died in a microlight accident.

In 2011 they released ‘Viva Hades‘, which was the first Mono Inc. album to enter the official German album charts at number 50.

• Their 2012 concept album ‘After the War’ entered the Top 10 for the first time in the band’s history.
• The 2013 album ‘Nimmermehr‘ included some German lyrics for the first time.
• The next album, 2015’s ‘Terlingua‘, was recorded in Texas and had an American inspiration that not all fans appreciated.

In 2017 the concept album ‘Together till the End‘ was released, the name of which has become their fans’ motto ‘Together forever’.

It included the band’s most popular song ‘Children of the Dark‘.

This song was the long-awaited international breakthrough for Mono Inc. and is considered the anthem of the black scene worldwide.

• The tenth studio album, ‘Welcome to Hell’, was released in 2018 and fuses history and current affairs criticism.

The Book of Fire, their 11th, arrived in 2021, becoming the first No.1 in the official German album charts.

• The album tells a story set in the time of the Inquisition ✝️

At the peak of their career, in 2023 Mono Inc. release their new album ‘Ravenblack’.

After 22 years of career and with a new bass player, the kings of German gothic metal are back with Ravenblack.

On the album we will find their singer and founder, Martin Engler, as stoic and Germanic as ever, accompanied by fantastic industrial melodies and the vocal winks of the brilliant drummer, Katha Mia.

As they themselves explained, ‘Ravenblack’ is not just an album they “made”. The album embraced them, deciding when they should be awake, when to sleep, when to eat and when to go outside. That’s right, they nurtured it and let it grow until it was ready to leave the nest 🐣.

Ravenblack is the quintessential Mono Inc. album with 11 superb titles:

1. At the End of the Rainbow: Beautiful song with a powerful message of loving yourself and not giving up the fight.
2. Empire: Singer Martin Engler
3. Princess of the Night: A beautiful melody, a good song, something very difficult, unless your name is Inc.
4. Angels Never Die (feat. SANZ): Drummer Katha Mia combining her magnificent voice with the frontman’s in another rounded track.
5. Heartbeat of the Dead: The first single from Ravenblack, it is, for us, the best track on the new album by Mono Inc. Perfect for celebrating late night parties with your friends.
6. Ravenblack: That’s how they define themselves, and to their credit, as black ravens.
7. Lieb’ Mich (Love me): This great song sung in German reminds us a bit of Rammstein and that industrial sound so typical of the Bavarians. Martin said he sang it in German, because that’s how it sounded in his head.
8. Never Alone: What starts out as a ballad changes mid-song, increasing the tempo, in what is Ravenblack’s longest track.
9. After Dark (feat. Storm Seeker): Together with the pirates of Storm Seeker, with whom they share a label, they sing this violin-marinated chant. A delight.
10. Day of Reckoning: Perhaps the weakest track on the album, which doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the album as a whole.
11. Wiedersehen Woanders (See You Elsewhere): Ravenblack’s 2nd German track is a ballad with which Mono Inc. close a magnificent album and leave us looking forward to seeing them live.

We are all one, we are all the raven!