{"id":21300,"date":"2014-08-12T00:00:47","date_gmt":"2014-08-12T00:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=21300"},"modified":"2014-08-24T16:38:34","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T16:38:34","slug":"album-review-monsterworks-overhaul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-monsterworks-overhaul\/","title":{"rendered":"MONSTERWORKS – Overhaul (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONSTERWORKS
Overhaul<\/strong><\/span>
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\nEat Lead & Die (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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I was mightily impressed by the 2013 release of Monsterworks entitled Earth<\/em><\/a>. In spite of a more than decent back catalogue, I wasn\u2019t all too familiar with this intriguing quartet who had originally formed in New Zealand back in 1996, but based in the UK since 2003. I was certainly looking forward to this new album, the 11th foray for these guys. <\/p>\n

When you talk about prolific then you have to look no further than Monsterworks, who are getting into the habit of releasing two albums a year! And so we come to Overhaul<\/em>, which comes what seems like minutes after Universe<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As one can expect it\u2019s the same progressive experimental zaniness wrapped up in six tracks which run for 35 minutes in total duration, but these guys are one of the only bands who could release a three-minute song and make it feel like you\u2019ve experienced an album. <\/p>\n

Variety is the spice of life here from a band who just do not have the ability to sit still. In fact, when someone a while back asked me to describe the sound of this quartet in a few words, I replied \u201cFaith No More meets Pink Floyd\u201d, to which I was met with a rather quizzical look. However, when one slaps on Overhaul<\/em> and is hit by the opening fragments of \u2018Educate The Masses\u2019 I feel as if I\u2019m experiencing some bloody great progressive masterpiece that not only refuses to be categorised but hints at the accessible madness that is Faith No More. I guess there\u2019s never a moment when Monsterworks sounds like Pink Floyd, but you cannot ignore the sprawling, complex passages that meander within the vibrant colours of the guitars let alone the swirling, kaleidoscopic solos that drift behind Jon\u2019s schizophrenic vocals. <\/p>\n

Mercurial frontman Mike Patton (Faith No More) surely had an influence here as the vocals demonically slip between industrialised growls before transforming into a melodic haze and then a choppy screech. It\u2019s all so catchy yet completely alien as \u2018To Do What Must Be Done\u2019 glides in with such subtlety that maybe it\u2019s this passage that Pink Floyd springs to mind, but as the aching, grinding guitar stretches out to a gargantuan yawn there is that Faith No More stench again. But Monsterworks, just like Faith No More, can follow whichever route they choose. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure that if they improvised they could still come up with another masterpiece of soaring vocals and immense soundscapes built on a concrete percussion and bamboozling bass, and yet when all is said and done, this is not an album that is over-indulgent. It merely flows into the deep psyche of each musician like some vast landscape of churning cogs silhouetted against grey horizons yearning for colour. <\/p>\n

Of course, when Monsterworks does spring into life the whole scene is splashed in Technicolor, the title track being a fine example of that more evocative lull in proceedings before the deep churning rhythms starts to grind into motion and the landscape comes to life. \u2018Trial Of The Sentient\u2019 is the band at its most up-tempo, offering a bouncy riff and jabbing drum before the injection of those poisonous vocal rants.<\/p>\n

\u2018Penultimate\u2019 opts for a nu-metal chug; it\u2019s glossy, well-oiled yet demonic in its guttural bellow and while it may be a crime to continually reference Faith No More, I must state that I doubt very much that bands such as Monsterworks would exist without such an influence. Having said that though, and as this album proves, some forces are just meant to be. <\/p>\n

By the time you\u2019ve been flailed, flogged and emotionally battered by the 12-minute schizo-fest \u2018Resolution\u2019, you too may be convinced that the asylum of the mind is the best place to be, and so let Overhaul<\/em> be your soundtrack through those tides of emotion. Of course, Monsterworks may not be everyone\u2019s cup of tea but then again, this is the Mad Hatter\u2019s Tea Party we\u2019re talkin\u2019 about…<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MONSTERWORKSOverhaul Eat Lead & Die (2014)Rating: 8\/10 I was mightily impressed by the 2013 release of Monsterworks entitled Earth. In spite of a more than decent back catalogue, I wasn\u2019t all too familiar with this intriguing quartet who had originally formed in New Zealand back in 1996, but based in the UK since 2003. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[756],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-monsterworks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21300"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21304,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21300\/revisions\/21304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}