MONUMENTS — The Amanuensis (review)

MONUMENTS — The Amanuensis album cover Album · 2014 · Metalcore Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Kev Rowland
This 2014 album was the second full release from the British metalcore act, following on from 2012’s ‘Gnosis’, and in the intervening time they had parted ways with singer Matt Rose who was replaced by Chris Barretto (ex-Periphery). A new singer can create a total change to a band’s sound, but Barretto is incredibly adept at mixing up the styles so that it often sounds as if there are two quite distinct and different singers, instead of just one man. What makes Monuments stand out for me is the high use of melody, with strong swathes of keyboards when the time is right, all combined with a djent style approach. All of this makes them a cut above the norm within the genre. Metalcore is probably my least favourite sub-genre, as often it is never one thing or another and consequently is less than any of the component parts, but when it is in the hands of a band who really know what they are doing then it is shifting dynamic after contrasting melody and they bounce off each other to create something quite special.

When the band decide to go full out, then Barretto is more than up to the task, but while he is giving it full-on sore throat the guys underneath are not only ripping it up but are bending chords to create something that is Meshuggah, but much more. When they want to be delicate then they produce songs, or at least sections of songs, that sound as if they could be played on the radio. Then of course they throw away the rulebook along with any opportunity of being played commercially and instead rip everyone a new one. Metalcore isn’t for everyone, and it is rarely for me, but this is an enjoyable romp by a band who really mean whatever style of music they are performing at the time.
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