Monolith - Tales Of The Macabre
Every now and then, I tend to get bored and spend a day scouring the depths of the internet in search of something new... or old. Something, anything that'll pique my curiosity. And in doing so recently I came across a death metal band called Monolith from the UK, a band who started out in 1990 under the name Catalepsy, released the Faces of Death demo under that name in 1991, then changed their name to Monolith. The band then released the Sleep With the Dead EP in 1992 and then supposedly split up, but Monolith had in fact recorded an album entitled Tales of the Macabre in 1993 that was never released to the public - only a test pressing of it remains so you can imagine how fortunate I feel to have stumbled across a vinyl rip of the album online. And to make things even more exciting, the album features none other than death metal king Nick Barker behind the drumkit - when it comes to Nick's career, it's probably easier to list the bands that he hasn't been in. So it's definitely got something going for it right there, surely?
Tales of the Macabre definitely sounds like an early death metal album. The album's tone and production absolutely reeks of albums such as Symphonies of Sickness, The Grand Leveller and Left Hand Path and it just sounds fan-fucking-tastic from start to finish. I could nostalgia-wank over this album's production for weeks, but I'm going to get the giddiness out of the way here while I move onto the music itself, which is... also very reminiscent of those aforementioned releases. Monolith seem to have a bit more of the slow doomy stuff going on with their death metal here than many, not quite in the same way as Asphyx but pretty close - there are plenty of slow chuggy sections with some atmospheric synth over them to complement the typical frenzied groove-laden death metal elsewhere. Four of the six tracks from the Faces of Death demo make an appearance here alongside both tracks from the Sleep With the Dead EP, though I can't comment on how different these versions are or what improvements have been made due to their curious degrees of rarity - even above Tales of the Macabre itself, and this never even came out. The album doesn't offer anything that you wouldn't have heard from most other bands who were around at the time, but the quality of Monolith's approach to their music quickly brings up the important question as to why Tales of the Macabre was never released to the public back in 1993. Yeah, it's not life changing but it's a damned good album that's more than deserving of release - Nick Barker's drumming is excellent, Nick Matthews has a brilliant voice on him, the songs are well written and complement each other nicely, the production is rather tasty for an album that's 20 years old, so why did this never come out?
If you can find a download for this album, snap it the hell up. Fans of death metal, especially the old shcool stuff, will absolutely love it. It's infuriating that Tales of the Macabre never got released properly, and I guess that the only way we'll ever get an answer as to why it was shelved is by asking the band members. Regardless, Monolith made a great album and I'd like to think that they're proud of the work they've done here.
Tales of the Macabre definitely sounds like an early death metal album. The album's tone and production absolutely reeks of albums such as Symphonies of Sickness, The Grand Leveller and Left Hand Path and it just sounds fan-fucking-tastic from start to finish. I could nostalgia-wank over this album's production for weeks, but I'm going to get the giddiness out of the way here while I move onto the music itself, which is... also very reminiscent of those aforementioned releases. Monolith seem to have a bit more of the slow doomy stuff going on with their death metal here than many, not quite in the same way as Asphyx but pretty close - there are plenty of slow chuggy sections with some atmospheric synth over them to complement the typical frenzied groove-laden death metal elsewhere. Four of the six tracks from the Faces of Death demo make an appearance here alongside both tracks from the Sleep With the Dead EP, though I can't comment on how different these versions are or what improvements have been made due to their curious degrees of rarity - even above Tales of the Macabre itself, and this never even came out. The album doesn't offer anything that you wouldn't have heard from most other bands who were around at the time, but the quality of Monolith's approach to their music quickly brings up the important question as to why Tales of the Macabre was never released to the public back in 1993. Yeah, it's not life changing but it's a damned good album that's more than deserving of release - Nick Barker's drumming is excellent, Nick Matthews has a brilliant voice on him, the songs are well written and complement each other nicely, the production is rather tasty for an album that's 20 years old, so why did this never come out?
If you can find a download for this album, snap it the hell up. Fans of death metal, especially the old shcool stuff, will absolutely love it. It's infuriating that Tales of the Macabre never got released properly, and I guess that the only way we'll ever get an answer as to why it was shelved is by asking the band members. Regardless, Monolith made a great album and I'd like to think that they're proud of the work they've done here.
1. Morbid Curiosity
2. Sleep With The Dead
3. Misery
4. Undead Burial
5. Devoured From Within
6. Locked In Horror
7. Catalogue Of Carnage
8. Maceration
2. Sleep With The Dead
3. Misery
4. Undead Burial
5. Devoured From Within
6. Locked In Horror
7. Catalogue Of Carnage
8. Maceration
Vinyl Solution
Reviewer: Dave Ingram Jr.
Sep 12, 2013
Sep 12, 2013
Next review:
Pure Negative - Insert [Twist] Pull
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