I'm always a bit surprised at how solid Monstrosity really is, especially after all these years. They're still throwing down raging death metal with a great mix of tempos and a lot of powerful quirks. Nah, it's not the most original thing in the world, but in this day and age I'll take what I can get when it comes to classic styled American death metal with damn strong songwriting, and Monstrosity is still very fucking capable in that department. They drop some killer rhythms all over this thing, not to mention some sick dual guitar harmonies and lead runs that bring Disincarnate or "Heartwork" era Carcass to mind to mind, and the shredding solos are a huge plus... so few bands unload the leads like that anymore, so I'm psyched to hear solos playing an important part. And hot damn, the acoustic guitars and melodic solos in the instrumental "The Fall of Eden" are fucking stellar... I haven't heard anything of that nature on a metal record in awhile, it brings me back to the late-80's/early-90's style of extended thrash intros, and I always loved that stuff. The production? Well, the drums are pretty unnatural, but at least there's a little density there. The drums and the vocals both cover the most tonal range (and the vocals are very well enunciated for their growled style), the bass only pops up when they intentionally drive it to the front (a shame because the bass tone is great and would really thicken things up), and the guitars, while fine, need something more... It sounds good though, my ears adjust pretty quickly and I'm not annoyed by anything. The layout gets the job done but I'm not sure why so many bands these days are putting such an emphasis on posed band photos and silly Photoshop effects. I like the tiny live shots, but the rest of the photos are sort of ruined by "digital trickery". Lyrically this is pretty much classic death metal, it's not too cheesy, but not really anything new, and aside from the forced rhyming I actually like their approach a lot. Even if it's not original, it's not stupid like a lot of death metal can be. "They dwell beyond dimensions, Outside the sphere of a living realm, Escaping binds of the universe, Watching beyond the unknown, Perceiving ourselves as endless, We choke on the sands of time, And as we fade into nothingness, Their memory of our being also dies." This is a great record that should definitely be tracked down for fans of true, no nonsense death metal. Monstrosity's experience certainly benefits them. Good work.
[Conquest]
Running time - 47:53, Tracks: 11
[Notable tracks: Awaiting Armageddon, Wave of Annihilation, The Fall of Eden, Abysmal Gods]
Conquest Music - http://www.conquestmusic.com
