MONUMENT OF MISANTHROPY
MONUMENT OF MISANTHROPY – “Vile Postmortem Irrumatio”
by Thor
My first thought when I received an album by MONUMENT OF MISANTHROPY called “Vile Postmortem Irrumatio” to review was this might as well be called “Death Metal Songs” by DEATH METAL BAND. My second thought was this is going to be a lot to type. And my third thought was I need to look up what “irrumatio” means.
Then I saw the album cover—a grotesque depiction of serial killer Ed Kemper’s place, complete with Ed and several victims now reduced to what I assume are actual monuments of misanthropy. It was obvious we have another contender for Album Cover of the Year to compete with ABORTED’s “Vault of Horrors” cover. Really, 2024 has been the year of the death metal album cover comeback.
Face fucking. Irrumatio means face fucking.
So, MOM (see what I did there?) has given us an Ed Kemper concept album, narrated in spots by Ed, himself. Bold. But how’s the music?
In a word: Badass! That might be two words. Either way, these Austrian maniacs can play. Theirs is a clean and technical brew of brutal death metal featuring outstanding drumming of various tempos, from blistering fast blast beats to sick halftime grooves, and guitar work that’s equally fantastic and dynamic, within a death metal context at least. The vocals are straight forward mid-range gutturals with high-shriek backups. There’s nothing here to reinvent the wheel, but this wheel is undeniably round, and it spins as fast as any.
The production of “Vile Postmortem Irrumatio” is top-notch, too. In fact, this album continues a recent trend, one that hints at modern, digital-leaning producers having finally cracked the code. The guitars sound like they’re playing through amps and the drum playing sounds somewhat human in origin. Crazy, right? Now, I’m not saying this album didn’t arrive by way of every plugin known to man, but it sure sounds warm and dare I say … organic.
From the artwork and production to the music and concept, MONUMENT OF MISANTHROPY’s “Vile Postmortem Irrumatio” is Goldy Locks brutal death metal—everything is just right. Songs including “The First Time It Makes You Sick To Your Stomach”, “Why Did You Keep Their Heads?”, and “A Nice Beheading For MoM” give way to album closer, and one of my all-time favorite DYING FETUS songs, “Your Treachery Will Die With You”.
“Vile Postmortem Irrumatio” is a banger. If you like death metal in the vein of bands such as SUFFOCATION and ABORTED, then you’re sure to dig this grotesque slab of brutality, too, out now from Transcending Obscurity Records.