Stunning new band keep Old School Death metal alive.
We are fortunate in the MV offices to receive plenty of top quality new music from bands not yet known in the wider rock, metal or blues communities. As a consequence we get to hear quite a bit of repetition and many bands sounding the same as other bands we have been recently exposed to.
It’s very heartening then to find an absolute gem amongst the good to very good pile. It’s not an everyday occurrence but neither is it unique.
Old School Death Metal retains a core audience of devoted followers that not only cherished the 1980’s sound but also are willing to embrace any band that follows the same ethic as their heroes. Step forward then Monumentomb. Their name along earns them full OSDM marks but it will take more than that. Good job they had more than that then isn’t it. A lot more in fact.
The ‘tolling of the bells’ introduces the album along with some suitably distorted and mournful voice talking about god knows what but I bet it’s not delivering platitudes. At a minute long it’s a quick introduction and sets the scene for what’s about to play out.
The title track is the first proper track on the EP and it is a stunner. Frontman Byron Braidwood has the gravelly, guttural vocals nailed. The speed, as one would , nay should, expect is furious and unrelenting. The band showcase a wide range of skills, over the course of the album, that must be acquired if any Death metal band is to succeed. The tempo changes and soaring short-burst solos are all present and correct as to is the blast beats and “punching underwater” riffs.
“In The Crypt Devoured”is a brilliantly crafted technical track that echoes Kataklysm at their finest. There is also some variety on “Perrenial Interment” which seamlessly goes from breakneck speed intensity to Icarus-like guitar play before crashes back down to the ground and creating a tornado-like increase in intensity back into the full-on senses assault of the opening passages.
The two other tracks “Perpetual Execution Torment” and “Citadel Of The Living Dead” continue the variation on the theme. The precision and technical ability of the guys in the band is a testament to the effort they have clearly put in to develop their own version of OSDM.
If there is any justice then 2015 will be a massive year for Monumentomb and they are few more worthy.
