Monstrosity – "Screams From Beneath The Surface"

Truest metal album and most tattooable cover art this year so far

Monstrosity is yet one of those B-level death metal bands that I never got around to checking out. In fact, it wasn't until researching for this review that I learned that it's the former group of long-time Cannibal Corpse vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher. And indeed, when looking up their similar artists on Metal Archives, it does rate CC number one and Malevolent Creation number two. However, notwithstanding the fact that Monstrosity has been touring and switching members with the latter over the years, this is a bit misleading.

Because, Monstrosity is much more faceted, challenging, and inspiring than either of the two. Opener "Banished to the Skies" from this, their latest LP, is patient in its dual harmony lead build-up, the ensuing tremolo riffing taking place in a half-time rather than blasting right away. While the vicious growls of Ed Webb (ex-Massacre) are dry, the Minor-key riffing is manic, interchanging between regular and tremolo in a quarter-time.

There are several sections, all following a natural evolution along the red Minor-key line. I wrote about the latest Kreator album that their constant use of Minor key gets boring, but that's because the melodies and cadences they employ are over-used and predictable. This, on the contrary, is creative and epic – also supported by the meticulous and sparsely instrumentated in- and outro.

Thrash-tinged follow-up "The Collossal Rage", with its pungent kick drum salvos and pounding emphasis on all fourths, is a gigantic contrast to the opener. The aggression here is constant. But then, the riffing in the chorus suddenly emits clear vibes of Death around the time when they started to get really interesting. (I.e., in '91 with "Human". Duh.)

Something that stands out a bit is the constant, savage riffs. Axe wielder Matt Barnes is, indeed, constantly unleashing one perfectly malicious metal riff after the other, in the same manner you'd imagine that fiery flares are blasting from the pits down south of Heaven. And I don't care what you're into otherwise; you can not be adequately down with actual metal and claim the same thing about whoever plays guitar in that "5 Finger Death Punch" hype. This, in contrast, is the real damn deal.

In spite of any and all monotony, "Screams From Beneath the Surface" is still as flawlessly written and executed as anyone could wish of any death metal record released after a coupla little albums called "Symbolic" and "Domination"

Granted, it's all heard both more brutal and more progressive. But as far as old-school death metal goes, this is as true as it gets. And still, just check out, for example, that straight 8th-note bass figure over that blastbeat with that mandolin-style background riff in "The Atrophied". And check out that half-time section with that Middle East-tinged riff interchanged with kick drum rolls in "Spiral". Seriously, if anyone out there is thinking of doing one of those BrEAkDoWn things, just check out this first. It's actually possible to play in half-time and still be creative and original.

Yes, as far as old-school death metal goes, this is more than just creative; we are, as mentioned, bordering on progressive. And that exact facet peaks with the opening 12/4-time and irregular metres of "Fortunes Engraved in Blood". That very thick and potent lead guitar towards the end reminds me of Nile; however, I'm mostly thinking of a band like Atheist here. Perhaps not coincidentally, Monstrosity drummer Lee Harrison was with exactly Atheist for a stint back in the day. And on this very track, he demonstrates better than on any of the others that you don't need to have those double-kick pedals constantly activated; the man is using them to play death metal as actual music; not just as another extreme metal autopilot feature.

In contrast, "Vapors", with its unmistakably Morbid Angel-like riffing and vocal lines, is probably the stylistically purest death metal this time around. I'll happily reiterate: That main riff is fucking killer. Nobody who's seriously into death metal would be able to find any reason to consider this anywhere near mediocre. However, I will say that this is also where any monotony is starting to set in a bit. This is partly due to the growl being extremely repetitive, but also the production being equally dry and sparse, rarely if ever making room for a lot more than those four main elements of guitar, drums, bass, and vocals.

Towards the end, however, "The Dark Aura" makes for the needed variation, being pure doom metal. Not as downright mysterious and somber as some downright doom metal artists, but grand and stately, with a cathedral-sized snare drum and a fanfare lead theme. This is perfectly placed, and given all the more or less dissonant metal riffing surrounding it, its doubled-down Minor-key tonic works perfectly, attaining an almost hypnotic effect.

But even in spite of any and all monotony, "Screams From Beneath the Surface" is still as flawlessly written and executed as anyone could wish of any death metal record released after a coupla little albums called "Symbolic" and "Domination". (I.e., in '95. Duh.) We may be dealing with one of those revolving door of band members kinda groups, but that doesn't make the music any less true. In fact, this is the truest album I've heard this year so far.

Rating: 5 out of 6

Genre: Death metal
Release date: 13/3/2026
Label: Metal Blade
Producer: Jason Suecoff + Jim Morris + Mark Prator + BJ Ramone