It seems like there are an awful lot of albums that are getting the reissue treatment at the moment but this debut from cult avant-garde Italians Monumentum is an essential one if you missed it first time around in 1995. To give you an idea of just how well it was thought of, the disc was almost released on Deathlike Silence productions. Being that it was neither Norwegian nor strictly adhering to any traditional black metal structures this was quite a major result for the band. Alas it was not to be as the well documented murder of label founder Øystein Aarseth scuppered any such plans and it was down to upcoming and now much missed British label Misanthropy to pick up the pieces. I cannot remember exactly where I heard this first but was instantly struck by the atmosphere conjured by this musical ritual. I grabbed the Misanthropy cassette of it and practically wore it out with late night listens with nothing but candlelight, incense and clouds of dope smoke to accompany it.
The group basically comprised of two singers male and female, although this was no exercise in beauty and the beast Gothicism. Andrea Zanetti of Iconaclast and Francesca Nicoli of Ataraxia provided the vocals and the musicians were helmed by band founder and today sole member of the supposed ‘active’ group Roberto Mammarella who is also the founder of label Avantgarde Music.
To describe the actual music of Monumentum at this time is no easy task and it’s certainly not anything like one would expect from a band who had previously recorded a split with Rotting Christ. It is an incredibly ritualistic piece of music and one that works as a whole with tracks all flowing into each other without apparent break. I guess if you had to categorise it this could be termed as neo-classicist, darkwave with ambient patterns, black metal sensibilities and anti-religious devotion. See, said it was not particularly easy. Somnambulant chants and bells sees the album taking shape on ‘Battesimo: Nero Opaco’ The intro expands as the doom laden ‘A Thousand Breathing Crosses’ comes in with the bass strumming low down and the guitars shimmering around it. Vocally you don’t quite know what to expect but what you get is baroque and unique especially as they join in around what sounds like a twanging bouzouki. The male voice is mysterious, low and virtually talking whilst the female warbles a bit like Jarboe, totally ethereal as it swirls around. Perhaps oddly but nevertheless it works fantastically is a cover of Visage classic ‘Fade To Grey.’ Vocals are more austere with female operatic parts here and the melody is a lot slower than the original, it’s certainly doomed down but contains the essence atmosphere of the original as well as the musical box at the end.
‘On Perspective of Spiritual Catharsis’ sees the doom laden oppressiveness getting heavier and cloaking things like a censer spreading heady fumes. There is something completely demonic about the feel that exudes from this and it would not be a good idea doing something like trying to summon up a spirit or anything to it. Pan pipes, bells and Jews harp turn the Greek fixated ‘Selunhs Aggelos’ into a real Dead Can Dance sounding number, it twists and turns all over the place and the Ataraxia vocalist does a damn good tribute to Lisa Gerard here. By the time you have got here you are probably gripped in a strange place almost spellbound and this really is a journey that should be undertaken completely isolated and with no chance of disturbance. The male vocals are somewhat difficult to get used to and sound at times like a communication with the dead, female ones are much airier and brighter hitting harmonic peaks around the maudlin tones of ‘Terra Mater Ofranorum’ and very much caressing the cold bones of the dead.
I admit rather than downloading the MP3 of the reissue I reviewed off the original disc but what you do get is new sleeve art and a bonus song ‘In Misery Front Raw’ to go with it. I have to admit on playing this that it does not convey the mood and essence of the album and is more in line with material on the follow up album 2002 release ‘Ad Nauseum’ which I was incredibly disappointed with as it sounded like a different band completely bereft the mystery conveyed in the classic debut.
http://www.myspace.com/monumentum
http://www.displeasedrecords.com/?id=4,440
