MONSTERWORKS
Overhaul
Eat Lead & Die (2014)
Rating: 8/10
|
|
I was mightily impressed by the 2013 release of Monsterworks entitled Earth. In spite of a more than decent back catalogue, I wasn’t all too familiar with this intriguing quartet who had originally formed in New Zealand back in 1996, but based in the UK since 2003. I was certainly looking forward to this new album, the 11th foray for these guys.
When you talk about prolific then you have to look no further than Monsterworks, who are getting into the habit of releasing two albums a year! And so we come to Overhaul, which comes what seems like minutes after Universe.
As one can expect it’s the same progressive experimental zaniness wrapped up in six tracks which run for 35 minutes in total duration, but these guys are one of the only bands who could release a three-minute song and make it feel like you’ve experienced an album.
Variety is the spice of life here from a band who just do not have the ability to sit still. In fact, when someone a while back asked me to describe the sound of this quartet in a few words, I replied “Faith No More meets Pink Floyd”, to which I was met with a rather quizzical look. However, when one slaps on Overhaul and is hit by the opening fragments of ‘Educate The Masses’ I feel as if I’m experiencing some bloody great progressive masterpiece that not only refuses to be categorised but hints at the accessible madness that is Faith No More. I guess there’s never a moment when Monsterworks sounds like Pink Floyd, but you cannot ignore the sprawling, complex passages that meander within the vibrant colours of the guitars let alone the swirling, kaleidoscopic solos that drift behind Jon’s schizophrenic vocals.
Mercurial frontman Mike Patton (Faith No More) surely had an influence here as the vocals demonically slip between industrialised growls before transforming into a melodic haze and then a choppy screech. It’s all so catchy yet completely alien as ‘To Do What Must Be Done’ glides in with such subtlety that maybe it’s this passage that Pink Floyd springs to mind, but as the aching, grinding guitar stretches out to a gargantuan yawn there is that Faith No More stench again. But Monsterworks, just like Faith No More, can follow whichever route they choose.
I’m sure that if they improvised they could still come up with another masterpiece of soaring vocals and immense soundscapes built on a concrete percussion and bamboozling bass, and yet when all is said and done, this is not an album that is over-indulgent. It merely flows into the deep psyche of each musician like some vast landscape of churning cogs silhouetted against grey horizons yearning for colour.
Of course, when Monsterworks does spring into life the whole scene is splashed in Technicolor, the title track being a fine example of that more evocative lull in proceedings before the deep churning rhythms starts to grind into motion and the landscape comes to life. ‘Trial Of The Sentient’ is the band at its most up-tempo, offering a bouncy riff and jabbing drum before the injection of those poisonous vocal rants.
‘Penultimate’ opts for a nu-metal chug; it’s glossy, well-oiled yet demonic in its guttural bellow and while it may be a crime to continually reference Faith No More, I must state that I doubt very much that bands such as Monsterworks would exist without such an influence. Having said that though, and as this album proves, some forces are just meant to be.
By the time you’ve been flailed, flogged and emotionally battered by the 12-minute schizo-fest ‘Resolution’, you too may be convinced that the asylum of the mind is the best place to be, and so let Overhaul be your soundtrack through those tides of emotion. Of course, Monsterworks may not be everyone’s cup of tea but then again, this is the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party we’re talkin’ about…
Neil Arnold
