MONSTROSITY - Rise To Power
1. The Exordium
2. Awaiting Armageddon
3. Wave of Annihilation
4. The Fall Of Eden
5. Chemical Reaction
6. A Casket For The Soul
7. Rise To Power
8. Visions Of Violence
9. From Wrath To Ruin
10. Abysmal Gods
11. Shadow Of Obliteration
Label: Conquest Music
Release date: 2003
Artist site:
GRADE:
9/10
MONSTROSITY are one of those bands that always seem to get lost in the sea of American death metal and it's a shame because throughout their career they've always managed to deliver the goods. Their first album featured current CANNIBAL CORPSE vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher and CYNIC guitarist Jason Gobels. The followup, Millenium, was the last to feature Fisher and severly overlooked. In 1999, the band returned from a long hiatus with In Dark Purity, my personal favorite. Armed with a new vocalist, they went on extended tours of the globe in support of the album and things were looking up for them. Then vocalist Jason Avery left the band, and another hiatus ensued.
After some sporadic touring and a stopgap release, Avery returned to the band and now we have their latest, Rise To Power, eleven new slabs of technical, yet pummeling death metal. If exposed to enough people, I could see this one making it onto somes' year end lists. Very brutal, yet exceedingly melodic and structured songwise, they bring to mind VEHEMENCE's God Was Created opus.
The main riff on "The Exordium" is a prime example, matched perfectly by the Maidenesque melodies in the midsection. My favorite is the scream Avery lets loose at the end of the song. "Awaiting Armageddon" begins with some killer lead work, bringing to mind old school death metal (think Roadrunner's heyday) and it just doesn't get much better than this. Pay close attention to the drumwork on this one. Excellent.
"Wave Of Annihilation" stays in a midtempo, very memorable and shows the band playing with a sense of control and restraint, yet keeping it incredibly heavy. I challenge you to not be moved by this one folks. "The Fall Of Eden" is a perfectly timed and sequenced instrumental interlude that sounds heavily inspired by Chuck Schuldiner. Doubt me? Check it out for yourself. Then comes the ball busting "Chemical Reaction" followed by "A Casket For The Soul." The latter is chock full of cool solos.
One of my favorites is the title track, the beginning riff plodding along with the cool undertones, not to mention more of those killer leads. "Visions Of Violence" sounds exactly as such, violently paced and executed. "From Wrath To Ruin" reminds me of vintage MALEVOLENT CREATION and the like. "Abysmal Gods" is another top notch track, and "Shadow Of Obliteration" is great, until you realize that it is a 12 minute track that spends its last 6 minutes sounding like a take on SLAYER's "Raining Blood" or "Hell Awaits" feedback, whammy bar masturbation. It slowly progresses to annoyance similar to VINNIE VINCENT INVASION's "Invasion" where he ends that song with an ultra annoying siren effect for minutes on end.
Aside from this minor gripe, MONSTROSITY stand well above and ahead a large portion of their peers. It's nice to see what was considered a lower tier band step up to the plate and not only smack a home run, but manage to bash the umpire over the fucking head with the bat at the same time. Rise To Power, indeed.
PJ
1. The Exordium
2. Awaiting Armageddon
3. Wave of Annihilation
4. The Fall Of Eden
5. Chemical Reaction
6. A Casket For The Soul
7. Rise To Power
8. Visions Of Violence
9. From Wrath To Ruin
10. Abysmal Gods
11. Shadow Of Obliteration
Label: Conquest Music
Release date: 2003
Artist site:
GRADE:
9/10
MONSTROSITY are one of those bands that always seem to get lost in the sea of American death metal and it's a shame because throughout their career they've always managed to deliver the goods. Their first album featured current CANNIBAL CORPSE vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher and CYNIC guitarist Jason Gobels. The followup, Millenium, was the last to feature Fisher and severly overlooked. In 1999, the band returned from a long hiatus with In Dark Purity, my personal favorite. Armed with a new vocalist, they went on extended tours of the globe in support of the album and things were looking up for them. Then vocalist Jason Avery left the band, and another hiatus ensued.
After some sporadic touring and a stopgap release, Avery returned to the band and now we have their latest, Rise To Power, eleven new slabs of technical, yet pummeling death metal. If exposed to enough people, I could see this one making it onto somes' year end lists. Very brutal, yet exceedingly melodic and structured songwise, they bring to mind VEHEMENCE's God Was Created opus.
The main riff on "The Exordium" is a prime example, matched perfectly by the Maidenesque melodies in the midsection. My favorite is the scream Avery lets loose at the end of the song. "Awaiting Armageddon" begins with some killer lead work, bringing to mind old school death metal (think Roadrunner's heyday) and it just doesn't get much better than this. Pay close attention to the drumwork on this one. Excellent.
"Wave Of Annihilation" stays in a midtempo, very memorable and shows the band playing with a sense of control and restraint, yet keeping it incredibly heavy. I challenge you to not be moved by this one folks. "The Fall Of Eden" is a perfectly timed and sequenced instrumental interlude that sounds heavily inspired by Chuck Schuldiner. Doubt me? Check it out for yourself. Then comes the ball busting "Chemical Reaction" followed by "A Casket For The Soul." The latter is chock full of cool solos.
One of my favorites is the title track, the beginning riff plodding along with the cool undertones, not to mention more of those killer leads. "Visions Of Violence" sounds exactly as such, violently paced and executed. "From Wrath To Ruin" reminds me of vintage MALEVOLENT CREATION and the like. "Abysmal Gods" is another top notch track, and "Shadow Of Obliteration" is great, until you realize that it is a 12 minute track that spends its last 6 minutes sounding like a take on SLAYER's "Raining Blood" or "Hell Awaits" feedback, whammy bar masturbation. It slowly progresses to annoyance similar to VINNIE VINCENT INVASION's "Invasion" where he ends that song with an ultra annoying siren effect for minutes on end.
Aside from this minor gripe, MONSTROSITY stand well above and ahead a large portion of their peers. It's nice to see what was considered a lower tier band step up to the plate and not only smack a home run, but manage to bash the umpire over the fucking head with the bat at the same time. Rise To Power, indeed.
PJ
