MORE REVIEWS:
DOOMANTIA:
http://www.doommantia.com/2011/03/monkeypriest-psalm.html
Monkeypriest from Spain have released their début full length album and it is time to celebrate, this album kills. Their earlier EP 'Defending The Tree' was really good but it seems it was only hinting at the real power of the band and was nothing more than a teaser for this monster release. It makes no difference what way you sliced it, Monkeypriest are on the ugly side of the doom fence. It may even be too crude to be called 'doom,' sludge-metal is a more accurate description of the crippling noise they unleash. Mixing death/thrash/black metal with doom/sludge/hardcore punk and stoner metal is no easy task but the band has nailed it with 'The Psalm.' It is obvious from the opening seconds of the first track, an instrumental intro titled 'Hanuman’s Dance' that the band has done some major overhauling in terms of production values. The sound of this album blows everything else the band has done into the dirt, the sound is simply fierce. Everything is bigger, heavier, thicker but it is also surprising in its clarity. It has a sound that will crush and hurt eardrums but you can hear every minor detail within the playing making 'The Psalm' a very exciting album to listen to. 'Hanuman's Dance' is a hybrid of Sabbathian styled riffing and intense hardcore sludge mayhem and a great way to get warmed up for the rest of the disc.
'The Word Of The Priest' follows and is 7 minutes of anger-filled sludge-metal that is enough to break neck muscles so be careful cranking this one up. Bringing back memories of the very best of Iron Monkey, Grief and Eyehategod, this is uglier than a hat full of assholes. There is some nice grooves but you may have to do some digging to find them under the explosive guitar work and the hoarse vocals. Monkeypriest do tend to follow the Iommi blueprint of doom riffage pretty closely but it is hidden somewhat under the thick, suffocating weight of the sound. At times the band sounds like a more pissed-off version of 'Winter' or a more aggressive 'Crowbar.' Their doom/sludge/metal hybrid is a varied one in terms of influence so you get a very varied and diverse approach to guitar riffs. Following 'The Word Of The Priest' comes the one of the most punishing sludge tracks ever recorded by anyone. 'The Psalm' starts off with droning, sinister riffing before building up the tension and the tempo with a series of unique changes. One minute it is a seething Sabbathian groove, the next it sounds like 80's thrash-metal played at the wrong speed. The riffs sound thrashy but played way real slow and the double kick drums are played in slow-motion, this is something you have to hear for yourself. There is also elements of blackened doom-metal and a psychedelic lead guitar break so everything has been thrown into this track and it works.
'Involution' is up next and they up the creepy atmosphere for this track. The black metal elements are a bit more prominent in this song especially in the guitar tremolo passages which sound very much in the classic black metal mold. This track stands out for its arrangement of starting slow and amping up the crustiness. From sinister ambience to pummeling sludge grooves, it is another very colorful track and it is also the third track in a row that is almost 7 minutes long. I doubt if it is a formula they are using but the album does seem to be repeating a writing concept at this point but that is all shattered by the next song, a cover of Cerebral Fix’s 'Feast of the Fools.' Not much to say here as Monkeypriest bring nothing new to the song, they play it more or less the same and while it has the 'Monkeypriest' extra heaviness and anger, it is basically no better or no worse than the original. I think I would have prefer it if the band had of recorded another original song than putting what is a stock-standard version of a cover tune on the album. 'The Psalm' gets back to the pure-sludge for the next track, 'Capharnaum.' This is a killer track but it is also the least interesting out of the 8 songs. It is brutal but doesn't deviate much at all but still has a killer hook especially the infectious yet meandering bass line. It is again another 7 minutes or close to it of crusty, ugly sludge in the vein of Grief and other masters of sleazy, grimey doom-laden sludge metal - good track but a little forgettable.
The album ends with, what else - an epic!! 'Our Kingdom (Involution Pt. II)' is 10 to 11 minutes of atmospheric, creepy, menacing sludge that showcases 'Monkeypriest's ability as players and composers. The variation between spine-chilling guitar work and mesmerizing bass guitar sections is incredibly well done on this track. At one point the bass drives the song all by itself and it is totally captivating as well as incredibly atmospheric. They bring in subtle but effective melody lines but it is the way how this is constructed that makes this track essential listening. 'Our Kingdom (Involution Pt. II)' should go down in history as a 'sludge-anthem' as the song is perfect in my view, you will be replying this track many times over if (and you should) buy this album. After 46 exhausting minutes, it is all over and what a great album it is. 'Monkeypriest' have arrived in a way I think no one was expecting, especially me. If you like the band before, they will become a firm favorite now...........9/10
DOOM-METAL . COM:
http://www.doom-metal.com/reviews.php?album=1996
This second album of Monkeypriest begins with some Buddhist monk singing, which suggests a continuation of a spiritual nature, a bit quirky, a breath of fresh air... but the breeze falls in a blink. The band then simply ruminates the muggy acrimony it already manifested in its four title-EP that got them signed by the Spanish label Feretro Records in 2010. The band didn’t take any chance: the compositions are of the same dirty greasy ilk. On the menu: rough and creepy doomy Sludge. It is a well-oiled machine, covered with swollen pustules that burst one after the other at the pace of its shaky but determined progression. Monkeypriest build their atmospheres carefully, the music reeks of putrefaction; the viscous half-growled Sludge voice, full of venom, spits foul mucus; some oldschool Death leads, sour and eerie, punctuate the songs.
This is all well and good, but it awakens no excess of enthusiasm in me. It is not until the last track of the album that a new dynamic comes and disturbs a little the unruffled character of the music. A vocal duet: Sludge voice/clear voice - almost yodeling, chanting hymns in the way you can hear in Orthodox’ songs. A track that should serve as business card to the band as it is complex and well-crafted. At the 6 minute mark, a break full of atmosphere, led by the bass, weaves a harrowing web; it’s tense, very ‘post- corish’, the intensity swells, rises to a crescendo, thunders, expands, then come low-pitched droning guitars on hectic drum patterns, before the lead guitar enters and releases a sly groove.
Monkeypriest is a band that doesn’t lack talent but still lacks individuality, it’s a bit flat. You remain a bit stony-faced listening to the first songs: the recipe needs consistency. The evidence of that is the excellent track 7, which, still several notches above the others, curiously displays a richer palette, more daring, whereas the other 6 tracks recycle old (good) ideas and unroll a familiar sound. One can imagine that this track 7 is the announcement of things to come. If so, then Monkeypriest will really become essential.
HELLRIDE MUSIC:
http://www.hellridemusicforums.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=24039
Man, my first listen of this album was right before bed, probably not a very good idea! Monkeypriest, a Spanish sludge/doom/death/thrash/blackened trio, previously eviscerated my eardrums with their debut EP, Defending The Tree. It was a putrid blast of sleazy, dirtbag sludge that owed as much debt to Autopsy and Winter as it did Grief and Fistula. Heavy, writhing riffs that contorted themselves over shoit-slingin’, slomo rhythms, the occaisonal burst of crippled speed, and grief-stricken larynx abuse.
The Psalm is the band’s first full-length soufflé, and someone decided to stick warts, fungus, and rot into the recipe. This is the real ugly side of doom, no doubt about it. But it manages to beat your head in, Flip with your mind, and get your head bobbing without ever getting boring. No sir, my fellow cretins…Monkeypriest is a top-tier sludge unit through and through with a little bit of repulsive death/thrash/black metal festering beneath its skin! I’m actually ashamed to admit I didn’t include them in my holy trinity of Spanish sludge bands whenever I penned the Lords of Bukkake review, and hope the band will grant me mercy for my trespasses. Defending the Tree was a great beginning, but The Psalm showcases a band ready to peel your banana. And on that note I am done with all of the monkeying around (I think the Defending the Tree review sunk to these verbal lows as well)!
It’s apparent from the lead in instrumental, “Hanuman’s Dance,” that the band has underwent a few upgrades since the last we’ve heard from them. Defending the Tree was a modest sounding recording, but The Psalm has been filling up on protein, and really muscled up the tones. The production is thicker and with more clarity, and the sound remains diseased and destroyed without sounding muddy, or choppy. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the sound of the EP, but it’s nice to see the band’s production progress in tandem with the songwriting. From the opening monk inspired chant, to the sunken eye dirge of the slightly Sabbath-leaned riffs, and new drummer Julio Moreno’s more beat intensive workout, it’s no secret that the 3 priests spent extensive time on the Holy Mountain Sinai, carefully meditating, and plotting out this set of tracks (all brand new, by the by…no repeats from the EP).
“Word of the Priest” is classic hate/sludge of the highest order, hammering away on half-step grooves that are filthy, anguishing displays of the sludge genre’s heralded standard bearers. Take the painful scathe and heart-attack inducing screams of Grief, add a touch of Sabbath/Iron Monkey/vintage UK riffery, and round things out with some hoary, death metal background vocals, and the overall thickness/lurch of Winter, and Autopsy, and you’ll have a pretty clear picture of what Monkeypriest has to offer. Everything here is decrepit, and beyond repair, and while there’s a “groove” present, it’s hardly of the sunlit, swingin’ variety that the UK offers so willingly, but more of a variation on that theme with dirt, and snippets of rat flesh covering the layers of traditional Iommi worship. Some of the stuttering, more forceful riffs in this track also remind me of the slowed-down thrash attack of your Crowbars and Slave Traitors. Color me impressed right from the get go.
The title cut is even better, shambling it’s way through the foliage of man like a giant sloth on a universal bender, as a pounding beat punches through the eerie set of droning riffs, and blackout drunk bass distortion that is used to erect a formidable intro. Once the mood is properly deconstructed, the band increases the tempo to a feverish crawl that transitions between bits of misanthropic, Sabbath groove, and scalding, reduced speed thrash riffs that are appropriately paired with some of the slowest double-bass drumming ever put to tape. The vomiting vocal spew spills out in every direction, and the band provides a masterful setup for what’s to come at the 4:17 mark; a mood of blasphemy circles the listener as a wandering bass line takes front and center stage, accentuated lightly by moody cymbal taps. Wailing, nail-biting guitar psychedelia creeps in next, and soon all hopes of getting any sleep tonight are eroded by the oncoming darkness, and escalating tension of the guitar chords, signifying the revelation to come. The priests’ revelation turns out to be a bile-black barrage of feral blast beats, and sluggishly twisted, blackened doom/death (of the Coffins’ persuasion, not that operatic shoit) riffing.
As an album centerpiece, the haunting “Involution” really ups the creep factor, and stands as another outstanding display of this band’s strengths. They lay the groundwork with a moody, clean build that’s full of subdued malice. The echoing, undistorted guitar chords, and somber drum march create an atmospheric hymnal that’s soon shattered by an iron-clad, dirge-groove, with those rotten, blood-curdling vocals prowling the back alleys of the song, and stirring up a whole helluva a lot of trouble. Letting a few notes ring, and linger eerily, the band drops back down to a molten slug race past the midsection, with the drums filling the role of tiny earthquakes beneath the rippling, riff pummel. At the 4:15 maker, the band starts playing their wild cards, and drops an anvil-heavy load of thundering double bass drumming on your ass (about 20 light years away from full-on death metal speed), as the riffs change shapes, and surge between gluey, slowed-down tremolo picking (black metal sounding for sure), and skuzzy, scabby, doom/thrash!
Then the band bludgeons through a cover of Cerebral Fix’s “Feast of the Fools.” Instead of taking liberties with the original, Monkeypriest plays it straight in terms of delivery, and adhering to the tempo set by Cerebral Fix (right down to the second half’s screeching guitar solo). The big difference here is that the original version had a high-register, thrash-oriented production job with the guitars having that bleeding, 80s tone all over them (a good thing!). The Monkeypriest version sports a more bloated, less tinny production, and the vocals are a tad deeper. Of course the original is a classic, but this one has its appeal too; a kick ass cover, nothing more and nothing less, and an indication of the vast array of sources this band draws their influences from.
Aside from a climactic battery of double-bass drumming, and thrash-y guitar picking, “Capharnaum,” aims a series of deadly sludge riffs at your Adam’s apple, and never deviates from the mark. With blood, and juice oozing from your open throat, the band sways precociously from detuned, Grief with a groove riffing, to a lone, wandering bass line, and back into a realm of nightmarish ugliness where the riff rules supreme, as they dance around your dazed frame delivering blow, after decisive blow to your reeling cranium. At 10+ minutes in length, “Our Kingdom (Involution Pt. II)” mops up what’s left of your carcass. This is another one of the album’s best pieces, diving headlong into another one of those atmospheric, spine-tingling seethes that grabs you right from the get go. The bass leads the dirge, and the guitar colors in melody around it with a particularly intoxicating lead lick that sounds like a bit of classic doom seeping from Marco's guitar. Riffs eventually formulate from the deeply entrenched madness, and the band is back to slamming through their diseased take of full-on sludge raping bits and pieces of other extreme metal genres. Dueling vocals range between the usual shredding screams, and a strained, shouting holler that along with the riffing, drops more than a few hints that the members of Monkeypriest have spent time smoking dope in their basements while jamming out on the monolithic bellow of Kirk Windstein and co. Not content to just play by the rules, the priests dip into a near moment of silence with wailing bass guitar standing alone against the darkness (bassist Pedro is a master at following the lead of the guitar, and knowing when it's time to step the low-end out to the front)…a deliberate beat coming in next…an apex of corrosive guitar leads entering thereafter…and finally Lucifer descending in the form of withered, double kick drumming, and blackened guitar melodies. These kind of moments are a testament to the quality of this band, and it helps set them apart from the rest of the sludgepack in the process.
While us sludge fans have been spoiled in recent years by the vast number of quality releases…and sometimes the whole rock n’ roll game becomes this big turf war that encapsulates the listener’s unwillingness to add a new band to their collection because there’s so much good stuff to listen to already in the heavy rock world…and furthermore I blow out more wind than a tsunami on a rampage…Monkeypriest’s The Psalm is the real article as far as quality sludge/doom metal is concerned no matter how you cut the mustard. I certainly have my classics from the genre, and have added tons of new comers to the archives, but Monkeypriest stand tall on their own terms, and The Psalm has already managed to muscle in extended playtime beyond the purpose of this review. Defending the Tree was a very promising start (worth a listen in its own right), but The Psalm brings these misanthropes full-circle. Between these guys, Moho (one of the best sludge bands ever…and not just speaking of Spain), Lords of Bukkake, and Moksha…Spain is quickly becoming a go to source for unique, specialized sludge. All 4 of these bands stand out in the scene worldwide, and The Psalm kills it! A must check if you can take all the poundin' n' the hollerin' n' the screamin' (obligatory Jaws reference).
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www.feretrorecords.com
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