Monstrosity

In Dark Purity (Olympic)
by Tim Den

A new album from Monstrosity is cause for celebration. Why? Because not only does it mean that more teeth-grinding, balls-to-the-wall technical death metal’s on the way, but that these Floridian boys have finally snapped out of that “a new album every six years” thing (as was the case between their debut, Imperial Doom, and its follow-up, Millennium). Sure, the line-up’s 50% different again, but I ain’t complainin’. In fact, I just might go out on a limb and say that this is the best Monstrosity line-up yet. Okay all you death metal purists, put down your hatchets and let me explain myself before you dismember me. You see, new vocalist Jason Avery (formerly of Eulogy. Never heard of ’em, but very determined to score points with the Dark Lord I’m willing to wager) and new guitarist Tony Norman have not only filled their predecessor’s shoes with more than enough musical muscle (x-vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher and x-guitarist Pat O’ Brien both rape the weak from the Cannibal Corpse camp these days), they’ve brought something very crucial to the band: good songwriting. Not letting technicality overtake the catchiness of the tunes (the case with Millennium), each song on In Dark Purity is mean, lean, and fuckin’ catchy with a capital C. Some of this might be attributed to the maturity of founder/only original member/drummer/lead songwriter (me enjoy back slashes) Lee Harrison, but having new blood in the band probably helped shift focus in a more accessible, but not any less brutal, direction. And the result is clear to see: a most enjoyable slab of death metal. Clean production, meticulous execution, and a damn good cover of “Angel of Death” (note-for-note, no less). Now, if they can only keep this line-up intact, deliver records more frequently, and work on the cheesy computer cover art…
(PO Box 7217 Elgin, IL 60121)