| Written by Alex Stojanovic TRACK LISTING Banished To The Skies The Colossal Rage The Atrophied Spiral Fortunes Engraved In Blood Vapors The Thorns Blood Works The Dark Aura Veil Of Disillusion Release Date: March 13, 2026 Label: Metal Blade Records Website: www.monstrosity.us www.facebook.com/MonstrosityOfficial |  |
Quick question. What is one thing that some current and past members of Cannibal Corpse have in common? The answer is that some of those guys at one point played in Monstrosity. While they're most known for featuring George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher before he went off to join Cannibal, he's not the only member to have played with Monstrosity, because both Pat O'Brien and Rob Barrett also had brief stints in the band as touring members at one point. While they might not have achieved the same heights of bands like Cannibal, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Death and others, they've managed to maintain a cult following, and have established their place as legends in death metal history. Despite having gone through many lineup changes and adversity, Lee Harrison has kept this band alive through everything. This is also the band's first album to feature Mark Van Erp on bass since Imperial Doom, and the first to feature Ed Webb on vocals and Matt Barnes on guitar.
When it comes to their studio records, they normally had four year gaps between releases, with an 11-year gap between Spiritual Apocalypse and The Passage Of Existence, and we are now here in 2026, six years since Passage, with their seventh album Screams From Beneath The Surface, a solid death metal feast. It feels like it brings all the best elements of death metal, along with some melodic death metal and some prog mixed in there. It makes you feel like you're listening to Amon Amarth, Death and Cannibal Corpse all in one. The opener "Banished To The Skies" brings the prog and epic elements, creating a rather brooding mood with tremolo riffs that flow smoothly with consistent double-bass. It's when we get to "The Colossal Rage" and "The Atrophied" that the speed kicks in. Ed Webb's vocals are super brutal and have that pure caveman death metal tone that can raise any testosterone levels. To me, he seems like a combination of Corpsegrinder and Glen Benton.
The production in particular is a standout element. Handled by Jason Suecof, a man known for some of the best modern production for metal, there's a lot of clarity with every element being distinguishable. Some tracks feel like an amalgamation of all the things the band tried to mix on this album, and "Fortunes Engraved In Blood" is a prime example of this. The ending of the song has a nice groove that hits the spot. If you pay attention, you can also find some odd time signatures placed expertly within the songs, adding to the prog flavour. When we get to "The Dark Aura", we're greeted by a slow, doomy intro that casts us back to the feel of the opening track. The track gives some pretty big black metal vibes, while "Veil Of Disillusion" closes out the record with another slamming round of brutality with blast beats and that death-thrash approach that Monstrosity is known for.
If there's one word to summarize Screams From Beneath The Surface, it's "solid". It contains every element that death metal has built its reputation on, and with Monstrosity known for their technical abilities, they have the ability to make technicality have catchiness and flow to it; something that many technical bands don't have the ability to do.
When it comes to their studio records, they normally had four year gaps between releases, with an 11-year gap between Spiritual Apocalypse and The Passage Of Existence, and we are now here in 2026, six years since Passage, with their seventh album Screams From Beneath The Surface, a solid death metal feast. It feels like it brings all the best elements of death metal, along with some melodic death metal and some prog mixed in there. It makes you feel like you're listening to Amon Amarth, Death and Cannibal Corpse all in one. The opener "Banished To The Skies" brings the prog and epic elements, creating a rather brooding mood with tremolo riffs that flow smoothly with consistent double-bass. It's when we get to "The Colossal Rage" and "The Atrophied" that the speed kicks in. Ed Webb's vocals are super brutal and have that pure caveman death metal tone that can raise any testosterone levels. To me, he seems like a combination of Corpsegrinder and Glen Benton.
The production in particular is a standout element. Handled by Jason Suecof, a man known for some of the best modern production for metal, there's a lot of clarity with every element being distinguishable. Some tracks feel like an amalgamation of all the things the band tried to mix on this album, and "Fortunes Engraved In Blood" is a prime example of this. The ending of the song has a nice groove that hits the spot. If you pay attention, you can also find some odd time signatures placed expertly within the songs, adding to the prog flavour. When we get to "The Dark Aura", we're greeted by a slow, doomy intro that casts us back to the feel of the opening track. The track gives some pretty big black metal vibes, while "Veil Of Disillusion" closes out the record with another slamming round of brutality with blast beats and that death-thrash approach that Monstrosity is known for.
If there's one word to summarize Screams From Beneath The Surface, it's "solid". It contains every element that death metal has built its reputation on, and with Monstrosity known for their technical abilities, they have the ability to make technicality have catchiness and flow to it; something that many technical bands don't have the ability to do.
FINAL RATING
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