Tetragrammaton

Explosive, that is the word that describes Tetragrammaton the best, and I'm not talking about some little car bomb either, I'm talking about the explosive power you could only get from several nukes going off in your immediate vicinity, burning and irradiating everything around you in an apocalyptic column of flames. This album by The Monolith Deathcult is a piece of earth-rending symphonic death metal with industrial undertones that goes all in with building a sound as thick and as destructive as a package of cluster bombs. This is one big, angry beast of an album, with giant, epic songs, varied guitar techniques, and an overwhelming sense of impending, firey annihilation. The sound on Tetragrammaton sounds a lot like if Sumerian Daemons by Septicflesh was ground up, supercharged, and mixed with Strapping Young Lad's Alien and Fear Factory's Demanufacture into a combustible fuel for gigantic death machines intent on annihilating mankind, with the epic sound and uncontrollable rage of the first one, joined with the "war machine" aesthetic and groovy punch of the next two, with the muscle of all three combined going at full strength, and a bit of brutal death metal tossed in to give it just the right amount of heat. This is one of those albums that kicks the destruction into overdrive and dominates with its gigantic, explosive, fiery volleys of metallic fury.

If you happen to be in a mood to destroy the earth, Tetragrammaton is the album for you. All seven songs are massive pieces with a massive presence and massive brutality. The riffs are all varied across the songs, adding some much-needed diversity to the guitar rhythms. They vary from mighty, rising, peaks, to punchy grooves, to vicious fast-paced shredding and they all make their impact felt with the utmost force. The usage of narrations and industrial/symphonic effects do a lot to huge you up for a song and get you enveloped in the kind of "World War 3" atmosphere that The Monolith Deathcult wish to unleash. They really know how to take a scorched earth approach to death metal, as every song fills its time well despite them all being very long, that is because they divide the songs into passages that all fit together and feel explosive despite the fact that this band runs on all cylinders all throughout, rarely ever letting up, and even then they have an apocalyptic tension to them that makes you anticipate the next blast of chaos. Blast drumming, death growls, and agile riffing combine with the industrial symphony to create a level of aggression rarely ever seen. This is music for the fiery end of the world.

Each of the individual pieces on here do their part to make their own cataclysmic battery leave an impact. Most of the lyrics concern war or genocide to some degree, discussing the Iran-Iraq War, The Rwandan Genocide, and various other scenarios of bloodshed and hellfire. The sheer force that these lyrics are roared with fits them to a T and though they can't always be understood, you know some violent shit is going down. My favorite song on here would have to be "Human Wave Attack" with how the buildup is handled with a narrator followed by a punchy, groovy buildup riff and pounding drum machines, to later jump into full-on pulsing flurry ideal for the destructive chaos of the mosh pit. It's also strangely catchy with its rhythm being as solid and infectious as you could get out of a song this brutal. The way this album uses buildup and release is particularly good with how The Monolith Deathcult primes its listeners for their assaults with methods like the narration for "Human Wave Attack", the war chant on "Drugs, Thugs, and Machetes", as well as symphonic pomp, and punchy buildup chugs with heavy syncopation. The solos are beyond wild and pepper the album like holes from incendiary machine gun fire and adding even more heat to the inferno that is this album. While the song lengths can be overwhelming, they are handled well and usually full of the kind of diverse, fiery guitar-work and imposing sense of presence that makes each a strong contender. They all bring the hellfire, but the grooviest tracks are still the most infectious ones. But don't expect simple thug chugs here, no matter how groovy this gets, Tetragrammaton is still as wild, furious, combative, and grandiose as can be.

The Monolith Deathcult have really gone out of their way to give us a bigass, heaping helping of hellfire in apocalyptic portions. While a bit overwhelming in its ambition, Tetragrammaton is an example of laying down a combative groove and a mechanical, apocalyptic atmosphere over a nuclear-hot base of crunchy brutal death metal and then expanding that into massive episodes of annihilation for songs, all while keeping the groove in swing, the presence giant and menacing, the buildups tense and crunchy, and the riffs wild and diverse. This is aggression on a level that few bands ever reach, even the brutal ones. With all the sinister power and terrifying awesomeness of a mushroom cloud rising in the distance, The Monolith Deathcult arrives with Tetragrammaton, and each of its seven songs are like volleys of flaming artillery sent to burn you to a crisp for their duration. This is something that fans of brutal, crushing, industrialized death metal can get behind. Let it destroy you!

The Monolith Deathcult are a band that people tend to either love or hate. Those who love them enjoy their crushing death metal riffs and rhythms interwoven with electronic elements and samples, along with their abundance of tongue-in-cheek humour. Those who hate them, based on my experience, dismiss them as boring Nile clones with a crippling superiority complex. I place myself firmly in the former camp.

The band had a lot to live up to after the utterly fantastic Trivmvirate. While the concept of mixing metal and electronic music is not new, TMD managed to create an album that was truly unique, and even the band's detractors admitted it was a fine work of art. However, before I get into reviewing the album proper, I must warn you that Tetragrammaton is a much more divisive album. If you liked Trivmvirate, there is no guarantee you will enjoy this record.

There are a multitude of adjectives you could use to describe Tetragrammaton, but no single word can sum up the album in its entirety. And that's where Tetragrammaton really excels. This album, in terms of scale and grandiosity, utterly destroys Trivmvirate despite being almost exactly the same length. It's a much more polished effort, and multiple listens are required if you really want to experience this album in full, because there is simply so much content to listen out for (particularly if you watched the band's short behind-the-scenes videos on YouTube).

The album deals with a wide range of themes, from the Rwandan Genocide to the Iran-Iraq war, and even an ironic ode to the band themselves. While I won't do a track-by-track review, because they suck, I will say that each song accurately captures the feeling you would associate with the subject at hand. For example, "Drugs, Thugs & Machetes" features hypnotic tribal beats and an almost trance-like atmosphere, as if you were a member of the Hutu militia in a state of bloodlust looking for Tutsi civilians to cut down with your machete. "Gods Among Insects" is dark, brooding and truly epic, which is perfect for a song about Unicron, the robotic "god" of chaos who devours all in his path.

The vocal duties are handled by Robin Kok and Michiel Dekker, who also play bass and guitar respectively. Robin's growls are certainly a highlight of this album, and of the band's music in general- he's got great enunciation, decent range and just sounds absolutely brutal, particularly on the final track, "Aslimu!!!". Michiel meanwhile employs more high-pitched vocals, approaching black metal shrieks in some cases, but is just as aggressive as his bandmate. Effects are used on both men's voices throughout the album, particularly in "Todesnacht Von Stammheim", but they never feel unnecessary. Indeed, the songs wouldn't be complete without them. The album also utilises chants at various points, including one interesting section in "Human Wave Attack" where the drum beats are emphasised with them.

Ivo Hilgenkamp is the band's other guitarist alongside Dekker. Because this album is all about atmosphere, the riffs may be at the forefront or they are simply used as a form of rhythm. When the guitars are at the forefront of the music, however, these guys don't disappoint. The riffs are highly varied, ranging from being blindingly fast, almost Nile-like, to having a nice mid-paced groove, and even slowing to a crawl during a breakdown. A word on these breakdowns, however- these aren't the short, catchy chugging sections you'll find in other forms of metal, or in deathcore. They're long, crushing and at times almost suffocating, as if somebody with heavy boots is standing on your chest. There are also abundant solos throughout the album, but none of them can be dismissed as pointless guitar wankery. Overall, the album's guitar work is pretty damn good.

While the bass is never given a prominent position within the album's sound, it is (thankfully) audible and doesn't just go along with the guitar riffs. It rumbles away nicely, but I can't really comment on the quality of the playing, as I'm not a bassist.

Sjoerd Visch's drumming is solid here. He's got the stamina, speed and skill to create interesting rythms and fills, and he doesn't restrict himself to the typical death metal sound. Blast beats are pretty rare, thankfully, and Visch can vary his drumming to suit the particular song. For instance, the snare is heavily utilised in "Human Wave Attack" to emphasise the warlike, militant nature of the song, and "Qasr al-Nihaya" has a strange stacatto quality to its percussion.

Finally, we have Carsten Altena, the mastermind behind the samples and keyboards. It's his work that really separates Tetragrammaton from previous albums. The samples, orchestration and electronics are integral to the sound here, as there is only so much you can do with guitars, bass and drums. Whether it's an extract from Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech (which is appropriate for the song it appears in, despite other reviewers not getting the purpose of it) or the booming orchestration in "Gods Among Insects", Altena really shows his skill throughout the album. Nothing he does is out of place or without purpose. Fantastic job, sir.

Overall, Tetragrammaton is a brilliant record. People who are looking for a death metal album will be disappointed, as this is so much more than that (like I said, you may not enjoy this even if you liked Trivmvirate). People who want a band that takes themselves seriously will find equal disappointment. This is an album for people who like experimentation and a healthy bit of goofing around.

Tetragrammaton is a musical roller-coaster, so if you buy it, strap yourselves in and prepare for one hell of a ride.

Recommended tracks: "Human Wave Attack", "Drugs, Thugs & Machetes", "Aslimu!!!"

Since 2002, Netherlands based outfit, The Monolith Deathcult has not only released five full-length albums, but have progressed into a unique entity that provides the listener with more than just a collection of songs, they take them on experiences. The band has grown rapidly from a straight death metal sound, as found on their first two albums, to an eclectic mix of death metal and electronic and industrial-influenced storytelling. While the combination of such elements has both proven successful and disastrous in the past for many bands, The Monolith Deathcult has managed not only to master their medium but transcend and make it their own, as found in their newest release, Tetragrammaton. The band's seamless blending of the many genres they use to craft their music are delicately balanced into a full and tasteful production. With such a delicate tightrope to balance, The Monolith Deathcult deserves admiration for their guts and respect for their ability to execute flawlessly. Needless to say, the sum of their achievements is quite impressive.

Tetragrammaton is an addictive, and somewhat bizarre listen. It is, no doubt, The Monolith Deathcult's masterpiece thus far. Following up 2008's Trivmvirate, the band has continued the approach they had taken on that release and have taken it to a more matured and perfected level on Tetragrammaton. There is much happening throughout the album's duration with everything from really heavy death, to atmospheric spoken-word samples, electronic, as well as, tribal and groove metal influences. Comprised of seven tracks that blend in and out of each other, Tetragrammaton clocks in at just under an hour of a roller-coaster ride through the band's bold and flawless vision. There is a lot happening in this album, as it is lush with a lot of instrumentation and rapid in it's ever-changing presentation. Tetragrammaton may take its audience a few listens to fully absorb its complexities; however, this is an album that will no problem bringing them back. It is highly catchy, memorable and intriguing.

The songs themselves are nearly impossible to breakdown in a synopsis. They are so intricate and varied, defining them would be an injustice. The album as a whole, however, weaves and blends many different styles, themes, and variations of tempo and structure while maintaining a strong death metal foundation. Musically, The Monolith Deathcult are in top form. A real highlight throughout the album is the vocal performance among others. What strengthens Tetragrammaton as The Monolith Deathcult's stand out LP is the unbelievable sound quality of the production, which also lends nicely to the style of songs the band has achieved. These are songs that need to be experienced fully to appreciate, and the band has gone above and beyond in their presentation. What is also nice about this album is its flexibility to be played throughout a variety of moods and settings. It's a great headphone listen as is background music and has the versatility to be a record people will keep returning to in any setting.

The Monolith Deathcult has out done themselves with Tetragrammaton. This is another excellent album to add to the list of the already memorable year of 2013 releases. The band themselves are geniuses in their own right and talented at that. They have encapsulated their arsenal of genre-bending themes into one classy, and more importantly, BALANCED package. This is a band that may be under-rated but are held dear in the hearts of their fans. Tetragrammaton is The Monolith Deathcult's swan song, an apex thus far, for the band, and a gem among the other great recordings they have released. This is for open-minded fans looking for something substantial, multi-layered and addicting. Tetragrammaton is truly one of the more artistically innovated releases of our time.
***Originally written for and by www.deathportal.net