ALBUM REVIEW: Phronesis – Monuments

MONUMENTS are back. It’s been four long years since the release of their second studio album The Amanuensis and the band have certainly filled their time. They embarked on an extensive two year world tour before taking a prolonged break due to the strains of the heavy touring schedule, both physically and financially. However, now in 2018 the band have returned with a fresh lease of life and a brand new collection of songs under the album title Phronesis.

The album opens with the song A.W.O.L which boasts an orchestral, epic introduction before diving headfirst in to a sea of technical, bouncy riffs and impressive drum work. The guitar work of John Browne and Olly Steele, coupled with the bass riffs from Adam Swan appears to be as tight as ever and provides an intricate web that manages to impress, yet not steel the limelight. The vocal performance from Chris Baretto is a flawless as ever as he shifts from shrill banshee screams to low guttural vocals at the drop of a hat. Also throwing in a massive hook that wouldn’t have been out of place on the most recent VEIL OF MAYA album Matriarch. The following song Hollow King is very similar except for the fact that the band have dialled up the djent overtones by adding plenty more in the way of polyrhythmic patterns and guitar work that sounds almost percussive in the way that it is delivered. The vocal performance is once again spectacular and infuses wonderfully with the adventurous musicianship.

The fourth track on the album Mirror Image is about as close to a progressive metal pop song you are likely to see. The vocals in the verse are drenched in echoing effects and delivered in the same way that you would expect from a band such as 30 SECONDS TO MARS. The grooves are as infectious as the dreaded T-Virus and the hooks are catchier than the hordes that it creates. This song was born for the radio and it wouldn’t be surprising to hear it on various rock radio stations for the foreseeable future. Up until this stage though, the issue that is apparent is the lack of originality on display. The songs are impressive and well written, the instrumental and vocal performances are all top shelf. But there is nothing here that is going to make MONUMENTS stand out above the rest of the progressive metal pack.

Up until this point the vocals and lyricism have been an important part of the album. However, on the song Stygian Blue this changes a little. The vocal performance is still up to the same high standard as the rest of the album, but the lyrics “leave me the fuck alone” that are thrown in to the chorus are nothing short of juvenile and scream ‘mopey teenager’ more than anything else. On the flip side of this you can say that the music itself is decent with the use of the bass from Swan in the verse being interesting and punchy and the drum work from Daniel Lang being equally as interesting. Things pick up again for the song Leviathan with the high energy and grooves providing a different flavour for the album before it gets a chance to become dull. Baretto gets a chance to show the versatility in his writing and performance as he throws all different types of singing techniques in to the mix through the verses. Switching between almost rapped parts, screaming and singing all at a whim over the top of the groove laden instrumental. It feels like everything in this track leads up to the crescendo of the colossal breakdown that is heavy enough to rearrange the tectonic plates below.

Overall Phronesis is a superb effort from MONUMENTS. The musicians are all outstanding in their chosen field and the vocal performance is flawless. Once again though we circle back to the main issue which is the lack of originality in the album as a whole. Phronesis will stand up against any of the other albums that have been released in the scene as of late, however, it does just that. It stands against them, not above and is that enough to be remembered in this day and age? Time will tell.

Rating: 7/10

Phronesis is set for release on October 5th via Century Media Records.

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