MONSTROSITY

Death Metal • United States

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Monstrosity is a floridian death metal band from the USA. The band formed in 1990 by Lee Harrison (drummer) and George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, vocalist.

One of the first innovative bands to arise from the Florida-Death-Metal scene. George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher performed vocal duties in this band before joining Cannibal Corpse. Monstrosity blend an extreme sense of dissonant technicality with aggressive riffing and vocals that paint images of imminent doom.

Their debut "Imperial Doom" came in 1992 on Nuclear Blast and set the pace of the already rapid aggressive vocals and technical guitars flowing through the songs. These received excellent reviews at the time.

The band's second release, "Millennium" was more technical than their first and brings the music technicality up to a new level. It was the last album with vocalist, George Fisher. The album was released in 1996 on Conquest Musicand licensed to Nuclear Blast in read more...

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MONSTROSITY Discography

MONSTROSITY albums / top albums

3.26 | 6 ratings

Imperial Doom
Death Metal 1992

3.39 | 5 ratings

Millennium
Death Metal 1996

3.28 | 5 ratings

In Dark Purity
Death Metal 1999

3.19 | 4 ratings

Rise to Power
Death Metal 2003

MONSTROSITY Spiritual Apocalypse album cover

3.61 | 5 ratings

Spiritual Apocalypse
Death Metal 2007

MONSTROSITY The Passage Of Existence album cover

3.72 | 5 ratings

The Passage Of Existence
Death Metal 2018

MONSTROSITY EPs & splits

MONSTROSITY Relapse Singles Series Vol. 3 album cover

0.00 | 0 ratings

Relapse Singles Series Vol. 3
Death Metal 2004

MONSTROSITY live albums

MONSTROSITY Live Extreme Brazillain Tour 2002 album cover

0.00 | 0 ratings

Live Extreme Brazillain Tour 2002
Death Metal 2003

MONSTROSITY demos, promos, fans club and other releases (no bootlegs)

3.50 | 1 ratings

Horror Infinity
Death Metal 1990

0.00 | 0 ratings

Demo 94
Death Metal 1994

MONSTROSITY re-issues & compilations

MONSTROSITY Enslaving the Masses album cover

4.00 | 1 ratings

Enslaving the Masses
Death Metal 2001

MONSTROSITY singles (2)

0.00 | 0 ratings

Burden Of Evil
Death Metal 1991

0.00 | 0 ratings

Darkest Dream
Death Metal 1992

MONSTROSITY movies (DVD, Blu-Ray or VHS)

0.00 | 0 ratings

Live Apocalypse
Death Metal 2012

MONSTROSITY Reviews

MONSTROSITY The Passage Of Existence

Album · 2018 · Death Metal

UMUR

"The Passage Of Existence" is the sixth full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in September 2018. It´s the successor to "Spiritual Apocalypse" from 2007 and features one lineup change since the predecessor as Matt Barnes has been added as second guitarist completing the now quintet lineup.

Stylistically the material on "The Passage Of Existence" continue the technically well played US death metal style of "Spiritual Apocalypse (2007)". Monstrosity were one of the early 90s Florida death metal acts which lived in the shadow of more successful artists like Obituary, Deicide, and Morbid Angel, and they were never able to get a real breakthrough, although they´ve continued to dwell in the Florida death metal underground and have continuously released albums (not completely unlike the fate of another Florida death metal act like Brutality). Oh well...there is typically a reason for everything, and the reason why Monstrosity have never reached beyond underground status, is because they don´t stand out much, and they don´t really have a unique style.

"The Passage Of Existence" is otherwise a high quality US death metal release. The musicianship is top notch (the guitar work on the album is quite brilliant), the sound production is raw, brutal, and detailed, suiting the material perfectly, and the songwriting is solid and relatively memorable, so it´s really just a matter of Monstrosity not producing music which is uniquely their own. Fans of Florida style US death metal should take notice here though, as this is a quality release in the genre. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

2 months ago
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Report #881530

MONSTROSITY Spiritual Apocalypse

Album · 2007 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Spiritual Apocalypse" is the fifth full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Conquest Music, Inc. in April 2007. It´s the successor to "Rise to Power" from 2003 and features quite a few lineup changes since the predecessor. Guitarists Tony Norman and Sam Molina have both left and new guitarist Mark English handles all guitars on the album. Lead vocalist Jason Avery has been replaced by Mike Hrubovcak (Vile). Only drummer (and band founder) Lee Harrison and bassist Michael Poggione remain from the lineup who recorded "Rise to Power (2003)".

Monstrosity continue to play their brand of US death metal on "Spiritual Apocalypse", but the addition of English to the ranks have a great impact on their sound. The premise is old school US death metal (technically well played), and artists like Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, and Morbid Angel aren´t the worst references. English lead guitar contributions to the music on "Spiritual Apocalypse", provide Monstrosity´s sound with a fierce (yet often melodic tinged) weapon and the often slightly generic/formulaic death metal basis of the music is lifted to a higher state. That´s how much a great guitarist can influence the direction of the music on an album. It´s actually not completely unlike when Ralph Santolla joined Deicide and delivered the many great leads on "The Stench of Redemption (2006)".

New lead vocalist Hrubovcak is a pretty regular low range growling vocalist, who gets the job done, but isn´t particularly distinct sounding. Fortunately the many great lead guitar parts and a slightly more varied and inspired songwriting approach than the case was of the last couple of releases, make "Spiritual Apocalypse" a solid US death metal release and definitely one of the better quality releases in the band´s discography. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

3 months ago
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Report #880971

MONSTROSITY Rise to Power

Album · 2003 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Rise to Power" is the fourth full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Conquest Music, Inc. in September 2003. It´s the successor to "In Dark Purity" from 1999 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Kelly Conlon has been replaced by Michael Poggione and Sam Molina has been added as second guitarist, making Monstrosity a quintet on "Rise to Power".

Regarding the music not much has changed since "In Dark Purity (1999)", and the listener is still treated to 100% pure old school Florida death metal. I´m almost immediately reminded of mid- to late 90s Morbid Angel, but with a lead vocalist sounding a lot like George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher in front. Deep growling and higher pitched screams are there and accounted for. Jason Avery (formerly of Eulogy) has a brutal and commanding delivery, but his voice and vocal style isn´t particularly unique. The same can be said about the instrumental part of the music. It´s skillfully performed, but the songwriting isn´t up there with the most catchy and memorable artists in the genre. "Rise to Power" is however a lot more interesting than the last couple of releases by Monstrosity, and I´m well entertained while the album spins.

"Rise to Power" features a detailed and relatively well sounding production job, and again...I´m reminded of Morbid Angel. The guitar tone, the drum production, there are just several production features, which sound a lot like contemporary Morbid Angel releases. So upon conclusion it would be a lie if I called "Rise to Power" a unique sounding release or told you that I think Monstrosity have a sound of their own, but what they do have is a good basis death metal foundation and a passion for what they do, and therefore a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn´t all wrong.

9 months ago
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Report #867927

MONSTROSITY In Dark Purity

Album · 1999 · Death Metal

UMUR

"In Dark Purity" is the 3rd full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Conquest Music in May 1999. It´s the successor to "Millennium" from 1996 and features two lineup changes since the predecessor as lead vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher has left to join Cannibal Corpse and has been replaced by Jason Avery and guitarist Jason Morgan has been replaced by Tony Norman. Drummer and band founder Lee Harrison and bassist Kelly Conlon remain from the lineup who recorded "Millennium (1996)".

Stylistically the material on "In Dark Purity" continue in the same brutal and technically well played death metal style of "Millennium (1996)". Think Cannibal Corpse meets Brutality or something in that vein. 100% pure US, Florida death metal. Losing a frontman like Fisher could have been a problem, but Avery proves to be a decent replacement. In fact I wouldn´t even have noticed there was a new singer on board, had I not known it. The two singers have a very similar growling style.

"In Dark Purity" features a dark, brutal, and raw sounding production job, which suits the material perfectly. Definitely an upgrade from the sound production of the precessor, which isn´t up to par with the production values of this album. Monstrosity are a well playing unit and they perform their music with both great conviction and passion. So on most parameters "In Dark Purity" is a good quality death metal release. I have to talk about the songwriting though, as I think most tracks lack memorable moments/riffs and vocal hooklines.

This is not vers/chorus structured pop music, but a few more catchy parts and more variation between tracks wouldn´t have hurt. Monstrosity have all the right tools, but the shed they´ve built still feels a bit empty. If I have to mention a few standout tracks it would be "Perpetual War" (because of the heavy mid-paced main riff), the instrumental "The Pillars of Drear", and the Slayer cover "Angel of Death" (which is decent although nothing too special). A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

10 months ago
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MONSTROSITY Millennium

Album · 1996 · Death Metal

UMUR

"Millennium" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Monstrosity. The album was released through Conquest Music in August 1996. It´s the successor to "Imperial Doom" from 1992 and features a couple of lineup changes since the predecessor as bassist Mark Van Erp has been replaced by Kelly Conlon (formerly of Death), and guitarists Jason Gobel and Jon Rubin has been replaced by Jason Morgan (who handles all guitars on the album). The two remaining members of lineup who recorded the predecessor are band leader and drummer Lee Harrison and lead vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher. The latter had already left Monstrosity before the release of "Millennium" though as he joined Cannibal Corpse in 1995.

Monstrosity had problems finding a label to release a new album after their collaboration with Nuclear Blast Records ended and they even had to record and release a demo in 1994 to shop for a new label, which was quite unusual for a US, Florida based death metal act in the early 90s. Most artists from that scene were given the opportunity to release at least a couple of albums.

The material on "Millennium" pretty much continue the brutal old US school death metal style of "Imperial Doom (1992)". Downtuned heavy riffs, powerful drumming (both fast-paced and mid-paced heavy beats), and Fisher´s brutal growling and occasionally higher pitched screaming vocals in front. There is a high level of profesionalism and skill behind the performances, which was typical for the American bands from that time and everything is executed with precision and attention to detail. "Millennium" is fairly well produced too, although the sound production is a bit dense and could have prospored from more room to breathe (I was a bit surprised to learn that the album was produced by Scott Burns). It´s the songwriting which brings the album down a bit though. The tracks are simply too standard fare US death metal and very few tracks stand out on both the album and the genre as a whole. "Fragments of Resolution" stand out a bit though because of its heavy mid-paced nature and the fact that Frank Mullen from Suffocation guests on backing vocals, but that´s not much to hold on to in terms of quality. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.