Review Summary: If Daath were from Germany and didn't make filler tracks, they'd be The Monolith Deathcult.
Somewhere along the road, a genre becomes polluted with an overabundance of bands that either don’t try and/or don’t care. As a result, these genres become poisoned with endless amounts of filler albums and worthless music. This is an unfortunate reoccurring phenomenon, a trend that can be seen most recently in the much maligned style of music known as metalcore. However, even before that, an even more sacrosanct genre was defiled by bands looking to cash in on the craze. Brutal Death Metal has always come under scrutiny for its lack of originality, dating back to when bands like
Cannibal Corpse decided it’d be OK to literally and metaphorically defecate all over it. As it is with all of these genres, however, there will always be select bands that make up for the large amount of awful material. In regards to Brutal Death Metal,
The Monolith Deathcult is one such band.
Last year’s release by
Daath saw an interesting take on the Death Metal genre. Combining pummeling riffs with strange keyboards and dance rhythms, it was a step in the right direction for originality. Unfortunately, the album was plagued by a laughable amount of filler, leaving the band to consider that quality is indeed better than quantity. Much akin to their strange dance-industrial-death combination,
The Monolith Deathcult infuse Brutal Death Metal with keyboards, synthesizers, dance beats, and much more. Different from the failure that was
The Hinderers is that there are no filler tracks on the album; consisting of 8 tunes and clocking in at about an hour, it’s a long, face-melting ride.
One of
The Monolith Deathcult’s greatest strengths is their keen ability to seamlessly blend all their arrangements and instruments in a fashion that is not suffocating in its presentation. Ranging from choirs to symphonic orchestras, the band fits as much variety into their songs as they can. They accomplish this by letting each individual element complement each other. This is most applicable in their use of synthesizers and keyboards, often accompanying the guitar lines to add a melodic (or chaotic) edge. In addition, the keyboards also carry some of the songs, providing a base for the guitars to work off of. Keyboards are not the only attraction, as full choirs, hymns, and chants are used to great effect. Often in German, the band uses them to add an edge of uncertainty and creepiness to the music. In its best form, it is absolutely unsettling to hear a man roar while the background chorus sings a sweet melody. The electric elements both add and accentuate the melody driven sound that
The Monolith Deathcult have in place.
Behind the walls of noise and occasional German techno beat, the album is also very clearly melody based. This is best exemplified in the main riff of
Wrath of the Baath, where you can distinctly hear a melodic riff underneath a wall of distortion, growling, and pounding drums. There is an incredible variety of guitar work on this album, ranging from doom-inspired passages to unrelenting breakdowns; however, the dominant form is death metal. While the guitarists are definitely extremely creative, they are not the main focus of the band, and if it had been so, it would have detracted greatly from the sound. The rhythm section keeps the band in check; the bass is never too audible, but the drums keep up expertly with the guitars. While nothing especially catchy or innovative, the drummer is clearly competent, and refreshingly, does not rely on blast beats to keep pace. With a span consisting of blinding tempos and crushing tempos, the instrumental work keeps you interested all the way throughout.
A rare find in music today, however, is the strength
The Monolith Deathcult have in their lyrics. Ranging from modern day social issues to my absolute favorite
Demigod, which is about The Battle of Thermopylae, the songs never cease to amaze . Written in an intellectual and retrospective manner, the lyrics are often in the form of a storyteller. Their greatest strength, however, is how, as simply put as possible, cool they are:
A beast is approaching us
Its magnitude will blot out the sun
We shall drink Persian blood
And find our glory in the final arrow hail
We blaspheme the tyrant
Earth and water
Under the banner of Hercules
For the eternal glory of Sparta
Death to the Persian invaders!
Epic lyrics like these are scattered throughout the album, though
Kindertodeslied is sung entirely in German and might be a bit much for some listeners. Even still, it’s refreshing to know that the concept of adept lyricism is not lost to everyone, and while that may be generalizing a bit, Brutal Death Metal has never been known for artistry.
The various differentiating elements add a certain eccentric and quirky quality to the album; a sense of eclecticism is burned into the listener, and they can’t help but feel that, no matter how good or bad, at least
The Monolith Deathcult tried something
different. In the cookie-cutter rampant musical scene of today, that counts for a lot, especially with as strong a release as
Trivmvirate.
