"Occultation" is the name of one of my favorite books, a short story collection by horror writer Laird Barron. "Occultation" is also the second full-length album by the Norwegian Post-Metal collective, MONOGRAF,  who strives to blend into their must a taste of Norwegian folk. The album was released on November 14, 2025 via Overhead Productions with marketing support from Viral Propaganda PR. And to be clear, I doubt if MONOGRAF was inspired by Barron's book—I would be insanely thrilled if they were, but I think it's more about what 'occultation' actually signifies. I mean it's not a word people drop in everyday conversation unless they're a practicing Cthulhu cultist or a scholar of profane and unholy lore. But then again, if we drew a Venn diagram of extreme metal and occultism, that bit in the middle might capture a disproportionate number of MONOGRAF fans.    

"Occultation" comprises five tracks and runs for about 40 minutes. If you look closely, though, those are some substantive tracks not only timewise but content wise. Essentially, the album is a bit of a journey. I'm sure there will be a single or two to satisfy the gods of the YouTube algorithm, but this is an album better experienced as a whole rather than in discreet chunks.

First let's address the folk aspect. I think it should be a rule that as soon as a band introduces a nyckelharpa into their mix, the band automatically qualifies as folk. Also, track three, "Ashes," is an acoustic interlude, so double score on folk. Second, let's address the Post-metal question. To me, music qualifies as Post-metal if it is heavy—but not in an obvious thrash, black, death, doom, or symphonic way—and if it has disturbing edges that catch you in the ribs and make you question the origin of some unusual shadows in your room that you only now just noticed. Oh, it should also have a prog, experimental, or avant-garde vibe to it. You know, like the artists clearly know how to read music and like to fuck with your listening expectations. So in my very slim book, those three things equal Post-metal. Which is to say, yes indeed MONOGRAF sounds exceptionally Post-metal to me.   

Now what about this album? The opener, "The Prophet," readily captures your attention with an ominous bass line and eclectic drumming that makes you doubt the reality of music theory. The vocals are both ethereal and raspy, and the riffage is raw and hard when it needs to be and soothing and haunting all the rest of the time. So, yeah, "The Prophet" is a good start to this album. The second track, "Cripplegate," is even better. "Cripplegate" could have been the title-track if the band didn't write an even better song called "Occultation," which I guess is my way of saying "Cripplegate" is the second-best track on the album.

I already mentioned "Ashes." It's acoustic. It's sweet. It's brief. Track four, "Carrion Seller," gets us back to the sinister and uneasy. This track gets a bit Occult Doomish on us, and I love it for this reason. There is also a fat Psych break in the middle where the band gets all fuzzy and trippy before steadily building into a tidal upheaval. The band ends strong with the tile track. This is a 12-minute behemoth with more twists than that 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim game. An epic track, this one, with lots of ups and downs both musically and emotionally.

"Occultation" by MONGRAF kind of blew me away. It suffers only from its brevity. I mean, I could have done with two more tracks or a second disk or full-length A24 movie. The good news is if you like "Occultation" there is also "Nadir" waiting out there for you . . . and one demo for the completionists.  The other good news is that at the pace of one album every six years, you're not likely to go broke collecting their discography. Onwards.