We don’t cover a ton of modern metal/djent on the website but when I saw this I couldn’t resist by any means. I’m not the most divulged listener of the band and I’ve heard of them, so take it easy on me. I have seen them with Devin Townsend many years ago in 2014 when their vocalist hurt his voice and just played sax; it was quite an experience to say the least. The album is out this Friday April 15th and I am going to give you my two cents on “In Stasis”.

We all know how good John Browne is and his riffing is absolutely relentless. I enjoyed the songwriting and guitar work a lot and it crushes. He’s such an accomplished guitarist and is on display ten fold. Andy’s voice has improved dramatically and his range is so good. I appreciate his range, whether it’s his screaming or singing. He’s such a diverse vocalist and knows how to harness his talents. “In Stasis” flows so well and is also pushed along with good production especially on the drums and bass which is punchy for a modern metal release. The drums and bass are punchy as well.

The band is signed to Century Media Records and has been with them for a full decade already! Browne and Cizek produced and edited the album, which is cool to see more artists taking care of their production since they generally know the sound they want. It leaves less middle men in the process which always helps to simplify things. Jens Borgen ended up mastering the album as well. Original drummer Mike Maylan returned to the band as well to record this album and Andy was able to demo songs real quickly.

Mick Gordon makes a guest appearance on the album, the musician responsible behind the recent revival of the Doom video game series musically. The guy is such a good guitarist and producer I was excited to hear his involvement with Monuments a perect team. Spencer from Periphery made a guest appearance as well, boosting a strong vocal performance on “In Stasis”. It is also Andy’s first studio contribution as a vocalist. Other notable artists is former vocalist Neema Akari made an appearance.

“In Stasis” is about “being in stasis stuck in the middle of a power struggle of oneself”. There wasn’t an album theme and works out really well. This is definitely a monstrous album and what you expect of a great modern djent/metalcore band especially Monuments. It’s an album you don’t want to miss out on no matter what music you’re into. It grooves really well and the constant mood changes really help a lot. The guests really improved every song they were involved in and were not brought in just for attention.

It’s such an efficiently written album and is a modern landmark for new metal bands to reach their songwriting level. I can’t find any weaknesses with the release and their fourth release might just be my favorite. I will say I miss the saxophone from their first few releases. It’s a monster of an album start to finish no questions asked. Monuments keeps setting the standard for progressive metal and djent. An absolute glorious album and a wonderful experience!