Monumentum Damnati - In The Tomb Of A Forgotten King

Monumentum Damnati are a rather secretive band that take a rather theatrical step towards their music. Embracing occult album themes, mysterious names, and even refusing to be chained down to a specific location save to be ‘spread throughout Eastern Europe’ their debut album “In The Tomb Of A Forgotten King” merges the beauty of gothic doom and symphonic metal with death metal for a rather enjoyable melodic ride. If one was to combine the symphonies of Cradle Of Filth with the melancholic tones of Edge Of Sanity, one would get the recipe for Monumentum Damnati. It is grandiose yet not cheesy and has some pretty great riffs mixed in as well. ‘The Shining’ kicks things right off with a rather cinematic introduction featuring plenty of piano among thundering guitars and drums before delving into the heavier sections.

‘My Bloody JJ’ pretty much serves up the standard track of what is to be expected of the group. Very, VERY synth heavy amongst a mid paced chug and gurgled, yet clear vocals the track carries on with lots of melodic solos that will appeal to fans of melo death and doom death. The beautiful heaviness carries on with ‘There’s No Place For Life’ which tries to layer the vocals a little bit to give more dimension to the music as the keyboard structure along with the guitar and drums can get a little monotonous as it sounds very similar to what was heard on the previous track. This may be the one difficulty with listening Monumentum Damnati as despite their rather beautiful atmosphere they create, they lack a lot of variety between tracks. One could skip down to a track like ‘Sleepless Anger’ and it would pretty much seem like it carries very similar riffs or song patterns to what was heard on ‘There’s No Place…’ On the plus side there are some really unique and catchy riffs that will stick with the listener’s head on ‘Sleepless…’

This is not to say that the album is going to be boring after the first few tracks. There are some really stand out symphonic moments such as on ‘Infernal Sun’ and on the title track Monumentum Damnati really go for the atmospheric touch with some spoken word elements, cutting back on the synths/ keyboards and letting the guitars, bass, and drums really deliver the melodies. Fans of Draconian will definitely appreciate this track. On ‘Falling Snow’ the group really slows down versus their usual melo death mid pace chug and go more for the doomier side of metal drawing on some haunting riffs that are akin to a cleaner sounding My Dying Bride. And those looking for some pretty great riffs that are head bang worthy should check out ‘Anabiosis.’

The album does close on a very strong note though. The instrumental ‘Exorcist’ has some bombastic sections and despite a rather simple riff that carries the music along with the keyboards, the drums are what really make the song. For those who felt the impact of an instrumental closers of albums like “Damage Done” by Dark Tranquility this particular track will resonate well. It is a good choice for Monumentum Damnati as it pretty much makes up for any monotony heard on the last few tracks by wiping out the vocals which while effective felt a bit one sided and just letting listeners sink into the music, just as the introduction to the album set them up. Ultimately, those who enjoy symphonic doom death with a clean sound and an abundant use of melodic riffs and keyboards will really dig them. And hopefully any live shows will further translate the mystique the band presents on their debut album.

3.5 / 5 STARS 

[embed]

1. The Shining
2. My Bloody JJ
3. There’s No Place For Life
4. Anabiosis
5. In The Tomb Of A Forgotten King
6. Infernal Sun
7. Falling Snow
8. Sleepless Anger
9. Exorcist