As the 'djent' movement is clearly in full swing, another new band has appeared on the scene ready and willing to fight for the crown, and they are England's Monuments. Their debut for Century Media, Gnosis, has been much hyped, talked about, and anticipated for a few years now after Jon Browne, former guitarist of Fellsilent, put the band together and transitioned through a few line-up changes before finally settling things down and getting Gnosis recorded. For many metal fans, Gnosis will be well worth the wait.
Monuments eventually setttled on vocalist Matt Rose, and he seems to fit the bill quite well here. His maniacal screams and bellows on tracks like "Doxa", "Degenerate", and "97% Static" perfectly mingle with the staccatto riffing and acrobatic drum work that populate the arrangements. The spectre of Meshuggah looms large here, but then again, all bands that play in this new djent style owe basically everything to the Swedish masters. However, Monuments do some really clever things melodically speaking, and use clean vocals far more effectively than other bands like Periphery and TesseracT, making for some truly memorable and fun tracks even though much of this is often brutal and quite complex. "The Uncollective" is a great example of how well they combine all these elements to make a tune that sticks in your head yet stimulates your senses. "Regenerate" even has some spacey atmosphere to go along with the prog-metal complexity for a nice touch.
This band is clearly onto something, and my guess is over the next few releases they are sure to create something really spectacular. Gnosis is very strong and shows a band that is ready to explode. Personally, I'd have them tone down the occasional hardcore element (which quite frankly makes them sound like every other metalcore band out there) and focus even more on the progressive side of things, as that is where their talent seems to lie. Otherwise, a release well worth checking out.
Track Listing
1. Admit Defeat
2. Degenerate
3. Doxa
4. The Uncollective
5. Blue Sky Thinking
6. Memoirs
7. 97% Static
8. Empty Vessels Make The Most Noise
9. Regenerate
10. Denial
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
