Black Monk Time  by The Monks (USA)

One of the most peculiar cases in the long history of rock 'n' roll was the American band The Monks. The Monks recorded their one and only album titled Black Monk Time in Cologne, Germany, during the period when the five members of the band were serving their military duty at the American Army Base (!)

The sound of the album is raw, unrefined, and far removed from the pop sensibilities of the mid-1960s. The roughness of the sound, stemming from a poor production, places Black Monk Time among the so-called proto-punk albums. This is reinforced by the themes of the songs, which abound with anti-war lyrics against the Vietnam War and against the consumer society that was slowly growing at that time. For these reasons, the album was not released in the USA until 1994 (!)

The album also released a single. On the first side was the song Complication and on the second, Oh, How To Do Now. Among the fans of Black Monk Time, we find the Beastie Boys, Jack White of The White Stripes, and the bassist of Radiohead, Colin Greenwood.