The sound of silence. For some, it’s a chance to decompress from the day’s events and evaluate your own thoughts and reactions. For others, it brings no such relief. It can be a breeding ground for negativity and dredge up things you don’t want to be confronted with. With the latter in mind, tech death heavy-hitters Monasteries drop their 5 track EP Silence on April 23, giving us 20 minutes of ear splitting confrontation of all things human nature.
‘Silence’ opens with the seductively dark ‘Jorōgumo Yôkai’. Referencing the rich tapestry of Japanese folklore, the Jorōgumo (translating to ‘Binding Bride’ or ‘Whore Spider’) is a type of yôkai (creature, ghost or goblin) which can take the form of a beautiful woman when it wants to feed on a human. With pockets of explosively sinister guitars mimicking the movements of an arachnid combined with the growls and screams of the vocal delivery, this is an unsettling song. The spine contracts as we come to the conclusion of if spiders could speak, this is how they would sound. ‘Jorōgumo Yôkai’ attacks the manipulative members of society as it draws comparisons to the fact even though the Jorōgumo may look like a beautiful woman, their true form of the spider will always be shown in its reflection. True intentions come to light in the end.
Aggression towards societal misgivings is rife within ‘Silence’ as the EP is packed with intensely frantic guitar riffs brutally tearing through anything which stands in their way. Ferocious, thundering drums serve to deal body checks and full frontal assaults with incredibly technical precision.
Continuing to hold society accountable for their actions, recent single ‘Digital Suicide’ puts us under the microscope for our willingness to succumb to social media and online personas. ‘Manipulated by lies’ calls us out for being both master manipulator and victim over a cacophony of noise. Murky, atmospheric guitar melodies collapse under the weight of heavier riffs as tempo and time signatures are pushed to their very limits, at times a high pitched squeal sounding like the modems of old. The inclusion of digitally synthesised pulses demonstrate just how easily we surrendered ourselves to the Zuckerburgs of the world and allow them to hold all the cards against humanity.
The full version of the title track’s excerpt ‘Silence (In The Place Where Heaven Should Be Found)’ closes out the EP with Monasteries’ signature high octane energy and technical prowess. The inclusion of synthesisers paint an uneasy scene of ascending to Heaven. However, the visceral growls are quick to dismantle that image and drag you to Hell. Frenzied drums lay the foundation of Monasteries’ distorted and dilapidated Heaven. A short break with softer guitars and whispered vocals while sinister in nature provide a much needed reprieve before the descent is completed with the whiplash of explosive, thick guitar and bass coming back to the forefront. The abrupt ending to ‘Silence (In The Place Where Heaven Should Be Found)’ reeks of “I said what I said. Deal with it” attitude. However, not everyone may be picking up what they’re putting down.
Silence does exactly what it intended to; it delivers a crushing sucker punch to the senses. Ears will ring for a time after the close to silence as a snow may take over the brain. Although Monasteries show incredible precision and prowess in terms of technicality and having the balls to explore the manipulation of time signatures as much as they have, Silence will sadly not be sitting in our record collection.
Silence is available for presaving now on all major streaming platforms and will release on April 23. For the latest Monasteries news, including release updates and tour dates, you can follow their social medias linked below.
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