MONSTROSITY

Legendary exponents of Floridian death metal, MONSTROSITY have seldom received due credit for their efforts. This is largely the result of a somewhat intermittent recording career that has produced only six albums in 36 years, but the quality of those records has never been in doubt. As they approach the 30th anniversary of seminal second album, "Millennium", drummer Lee Harrison and comrades are in the same, uncompromising mood that brought us some of Florida's greatest-ever death metal. The difference in 2026 is that the scene's initial myopia has long since been replaced by a more free-thinking approach to brutality. "Screams From Beneath The Surface" follows "The Path Of Existence": ostensibly MONSTROSITY's 2018 comeback opus, and a strong indication that Harrison and bassist Mark van Erp (both survivors from the original lineup) had grand creative ambitions that would not be satisfied by simply going through the old-school motions. On this, their seventh studio full-length, they march even further into fresh territory.

Nothing sums up the refreshed MONSTROSITY philosophy better than the opening track here. "Banished To The Skies" is a bold and progressive sprawl, with numerous atypical riffs and a sense of drama that neatly sets up the rest of these songs. Largely mid-paced and thrillingly dark as hell, its skewed melodies and lavish arrangement ooze traditional metal DNA, but with that Floridian ferocity keeping the death engine humming. Vocalist Ed Webb is a fine replacement for previous incumbent Mike Hrubovcak, and clearly has the spirit of the old school rattling through his veins. As he proves on the vicious "The Colossal Rage", MONSTROSITY have their most impactful frontman since George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, and arguably some even stronger material to showcase his talents.

At full pelt, this incarnation of the band trounces all previous lineups, and "Screams From Beneath The Surface" is a technical and compositional triumph that, one suspects, has even taken the band themselves by surprise. "The Atrophied" is a furious blast of upgraded, arcane DM, with a bruising, melodic undertow, and invigorating bursts of blasting speed. MONSTROSITY sound equally contemporary and respectful of the past, and their sound has matured and expanded, while retaining all of the thuggishness and menace that made them such an important band first time around. Whether it's the grinding horror of "Spiral", the caustic tank attack of "Fortunes Engraved In Blood", or the virtuoso violence of "Veil Of Disillusion", "Screams From Beneath The Surface" is never less than authoritative, and always utterly crushing. In fact, much like some of their old-school Floridian peers, MONSTROSITY are proving that death metal has never lost its relevance. As countless young bands jump onto the barbarous bandwagon, the original purveyors of the genre are still finding new ways to break necks and flatten skulls. Welcome to sunny Florida, where only death is real.