This is the fourth album from Monument of Misanthropy, a death metal band from Austria.
Monument of Misanthropy play serial killer-themed modern death metal, yet do so with more nuanced ability than you might be expecting. Washington State Charm is as brutal as you’d want it to be, but it also has more assets at its disposal than many ostensibly similar acts.
Starting with the basics – Washington State Charm exists somewhere between the blast-and-groove assault of Aborted, the precise intricacy of Nile, and the technical colour of Obscura. Operating at the intersection of these styles allows Monument of Misanthropy to make use of a variety of tools, making for a record that’s remarkably enjoyable and infectious.
Monument of Misanthropy’s riffcraft is unexpectedly hook-filled. This is a band that know how to write a good guitar part. Most striking of all is the music’s surprisingly strong use of emotive melody. This is death metal with plenty of brutal aggression, but it also portrays emotion well; embedded in the riffs, rhythms, and blasting mayhem are the sort of melodic skills that many a band would kill for. Add to this a flair for colourful solos and meaningful leads, and you have a death metal album that makes an impact.
So, Monument of Misanthropy deal in death metal technicality, emotive textures, and catchiness, and their business is booming it seems. With its moreish songwriting and effortlessly compelling execution, Washington State Charm is a death metal album that puts many of its peers to shame. High praise of course, but this is simply a record that’s very well-crafted and easily enjoyable. There are some annoying interludes, (as is almost always the case with albums), but these are so short as to not really be that noticeable really.
Across a scorching 32 minutes Monument of Misanthropy dish out a brand of punishment that will simultaneously crush you flat and make you want to dance. A triumph of balancing accessibility and extremity, Washington State Charm does what it does very well indeed. There’s also a version with a bonus track on it, which means you also get to hear them tear through Nile’s The Eye of Ra too.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 