CD Review: Monuments - Gnosis

Written by Colin McNamara Wednesday, 05 September 2012 07:21

Artist: Monuments
Title: Gnosis
Genre: Technical Metal
Release Date: 24th August 2012
Label: Century Media Records

Album Review

‘Gnosis’ the debut release from UK outfit MONUMENTS. Drawing on influences like BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME and PERIPHERY the album is full of melodic, yet jarring moments that just stop n’ go like a bad roller coaster ride, but are impressive to display to the ear hole as a cacophony of comprehensible noise. Sounding almost as manic as a MESHUGGAH album with a somewhat cleaner sound, ‘Gnosis’ opens with ‘Admit Defeat’ which employs a jazzy approach to the tapping of the guitar notes that are heaped in distortion along with screams. Once the chorus hits and the cleaner vocals join in, a bit more melody is injected through the synths, which cushions the intensity of the track. After a while fans will begin to realize that this is the staple for MONUMENTS’ work; some may find it repetitive by track seven and others may think it is just right.

Thankfully, the band does their best to keep the music between tracks varied if not the vocal patterns. ‘Denial’ is more segmented in between riffs with pauses whereas ‘Degenerate’ is just a seamless flow of melodies and riffs that don’t really leave much for breathing room. ‘Regenerate’ opts to build upon crescendo up to the point of explosion rather than just opening with a loud riff and hitting over and over for the first minute of the track. This slower approach not only allows listeners to see more into the melodies that ‘Gnosis’ offers, but also offers a progressive style that breaks up the monotony of every time a track starts, one is greeted by the kind of music that is heard at 1:15 on the track over and over. The good news is that if one listens to the entire track, they will see that MONUMENTS do a great job at putting variation throughout the entire track; it is just the introductions that need work. Most fans of Modern Metal today are going to find the efforts here enjoyable, at least at first, but those who know of more seasoned Prog/ Technical Metal groups will see that a one trick pony isn’t quite going to save MONUMENTS a second time if they try to continue with another ‘Gnosis.’


Tracklist

1. Admit Defeat - :13
2. Degenerate - 4:12
3. Doxa - 4:32
4. The Uncollective - 3:57
5. Blue Sky Thinking - 5:13
6. 97% Static - 4:30
7. Empty Vessels Make The Most Noise - 3:46
8. Regenerate - 5:35
9. Denial - 5:15


Line-up

John Browne– Guitar
Olly Steele– Guitar
Adam Swan– Bass
Mike Malyan– Drums
Matt Rose– Vocals


Website

www.thisismonuments.com


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 6
Sound: 6
Total: 6 / 10