People of the Monolith

People of the Monolith (formerly known as This Weary Hour) is an atmospheric sludge band from Cork, Ireland. The band came into inception in mid-2007, when Seán Murphy (guitars) and Eamonn O'Neill (vocals) began working on a project with intentions of creating dark, doomy metal. Rather than begin recruiting other members right-away, they first decided to write as a two-piece, hoping the resulting material would attract the right people for the job. The band was initially named "This Weary Hour" after a lyric that carried a particular poignancy for them in the iconic My Dying Bride song, The Cry of Mankind. The name would remain that way for just over two years.

In November 2007 the two began recording, with the aid of James Kelly (Altar of Plagues), who also offered to sit-in on drums. The fruit of these sessions manifested itself in a three-track demo entitled, "The Shadow of Time". The demo, released as a free download on the band's Last.fm page in January 2008, received reasonably positive criticism and enough interest so that the band decided to re-release it on CD in limited quantities the following June.

By the end of the summer, "The Shadow of Time" had done its intended job as the band found its first full line-up in the addition of bassist Ben Kelleher and Damian Jarzabek on drums. During this period, they began work on new material, each new member bringing their own styles and influences to the writing process. This line-up made its live début in Fred Zeppelins, Cork on the 9th of January 2009 - almost exactly a year after the release of the first demo - showcasing some of the new songs for the first time. It was at this gig that the band first made contact with Declan Synnott (Sioraí Geimhreadh), who has joined the This Weary Hour ranks as a second guitarist.

The band hit the studio in May 2009 to record their second release - a five-track EP entitled, "No Hand to Comfort You". June saw TWH playing a pair of gigs in Cork and Dublin with New Orleans doom heavyweights, Thou, and Altar of Plagues. The aforementioned EP made it out on July 13th 2009 and was officially launched with a three-date Irish tour, headlined by Dublin's De Novissimis. TWH continued to play shows through to the end of the year, as NHtCY gathered some very favorable reviews.
As 2009 came to a close, and no longer believing that their original title suited evolving musical style and aesthetic, the band began to consider the idea of a change in moniker. Cork Winterfest 2009 was to be their last gig as This Weary Hour, as a new name was eventually decided upon. On the 20th Dec, the announcement was made that TWH would from then-on be writing and performing as, People of the Monolith.

2010 began with the promise of improved live shows and new recordings.