Album Review: Monsterworks - Malignment

The first time I heard Monsterworks, on their "Album Of Man", I found them to be incredibly interesting. Their blend of hard rock, metal, and extreme metal was something that caught my ear, and I heard some craft behind the experimentation that held real appeal. But what was interesting at first later become dull, what was subversive at first became haphazard. I grew more and more impatient as the band released albums at breakneck speed, and with less and less sinew tying the pieces together. I wasn't hearing enough to make me think they were compositions, rather than collections of ideas. The songwriting aspect was missing.

But with the band taking a year off, the extra time might mean more care went into the next batch of music, which is what we're looking at today. Is that what happened?

Let's get one thing out of the way first; this album is both a prequel and sequel to two albums that were released more than a decade ago, and before Monsterworks had whatever level of notoriety than currently do. I don't know how many people would have heard those records, so asking them to get into a story they would need to listen to two more albums in order to understand is not a smart business decision. I'll be honest and say despite knowing this fact, I did not go back and listen to those albums for more context. Enough of the lyrics are obscured by growling, howling, and shrieking that it didn't seem worth the effort, given how little of this record's story I could even decipher (yes, my promo came with the lyrics, but if I have to read them to understand what you're saying, you have already failed).

To get back to the question at hand, no, Monsterworks has not used the extended time between albums to make a better record. While I will admit the transitions are not as random as they have been in the past, which is a sign of growth, the actual songs built from all their wild ideas aren't strong enough. The riffs are too sludgy to have the kind of bite necessary to get our heads banging, and the vocals deliver almost no moments of melody. It's well managed noise, but it simply doesn't gel together into songs worth listening to repeatedly. That's what made "Album Of Man" work. There were songs with catchy hooks that made you want to follow the randomness. This album doesn't draw the dots dark enough to follow them with our pens.

I'm glad these guys enjoy the music they are making, but it has passed me by. I just don't understand the appeal of music that doesn't have memorable riffs and melodies. The impact of art is directly related to how many people who encounter it will remember they even did so. "Starry Night" would not be a treasured masterpiece of art if the image was a faint memory in our minds. We remember every color and swirl. Monsterworks' music is not "Starry Night". I will barely remember I heard this at all, which is a sad thing to have to say.