LIVE REVIEW: Monuments @ The Flapper, Birmingham
The early-evening sun is bathing The Flapper pub’s beer garden in a golden glow as fans begin to file into the unassuming venue this Friday night. But these punters aren’t here for pints and a natter… well they’re not here for a natter, anyway, they’re here for a night of no-holds-barred metal carnage from MONUMENTS. And luckily, that’s just what’s in store for them.
With the local opener unable to make it due to COVID-related difficulties, the action gets started with riff-heavy supergroup KILL THE LIGHTS. The sound is absolutely huge – anthemic metal with a dash of heaviness and ear-melting solos galore. It’s not surprising that the sound is so accomplished given that the band has two former BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE members within its ranks.
Rating: 7/10
MONUMENTS threaten to crumble the basement’s support beams and bring the entire house down when they launch into their thunderous brand of metalcore. Fresh off their first album with vocalist Andy Cizek, for their first tour in two years, the band are clearly eager to impress bringing enough energy and noise to fill a venue 50 times its size.
Opener Cardinal Red perfectly exemplifies the band’s melodious brutality, with the natural-born frontman pumping out soaring cleans for the song’s epic chorus as well savage screams and guttural growls on the heavier passages. The rest of the band stay incredibly tight, flawlessly thrashing out the tech-metal instrumentation that first made them a hit when they debuted a decade ago.
The fact that MONUMENTS now play as a four-piece doesn’t take away from the power of their tunes, as guitarist Josh Browne effortlessly delivers the riffs, taps, and chugs that have come to define the band’s bruising sound. The rhythm section deserves equal credit, with Adam Swan bringing the bass grooves and Mike Malyan executing the song’s challenging drum sections with furious precision.
The band used a number of guests on the new album, In Stasis, to keep things fresh. The most notable of these is Mick Gordon – best known for his work on rollicking video game soundtracks for games like Doom and Wolfenstein – who produced the album and assisted on songwriting duties. In the live setting, his presence is felt in just how cohesive these songs feel in comparison to the older material.
But the band don’t shy away from their past here, giving the new vocalist a crack at some old favourites from the band’s back catalogue which elicit a tremendous response from the crowd. Origin Of Escape throws things back to the band’s 2014 record The Amanuensis, before the band launch into Degenerate and Regenerate from their 2012 debut, Gnosis.
The band shift back to the newer material towards the latter part of the set, allowing Cizek to demonstrate his incredible range on recent single Makeshift Harmony, which features possibly the most vocally-challenging chorus the band has ever written. The set is closed out with Lavos – a heavy metal epic that elicits the biggest sing-along of the night.
Ever the showmen, MONUMENTS return for one more song – I, the Creator. Knowing it’s their last chance to dance, the mosh-pit erupts, threatening to swallow up the entire venue. All-in-all, it’s been a terrific night for heavy music fans and a triumphant return for the London band and their Floridian frontman.
Rating: 9/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Birmingham from Serena Hill Photography here:
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