Metal Underground.com

I recently received a package in the mail from my editor that contained independent/self-released material to listen to and review. After shuffling through the pile, I naturally picked the one with the coolest cover artwork. Well, not only did Misanthrope Monarch do a great job on the visual aesthetics, the adjoining music is also pretty badass. The Germans are experts at the complete metal package, and Misanthrope Monarch is no different. “Regress to the Saturnine Chapter” is Misanthrope Monarch’s first full-length offering, consisting of eleven painstakingly crafted death metal hymns.

Kicking off with a short instrumental interlude, “Towards the Utopian Kingdom of Fire,” and then being blasted with “Usurping the Throne,” you get the hint within first dozen seconds or so that you’ve just volunteered yourself for an ass kicking. Say you’re at work and you’ve hit that lull after lunch. If coffee or an energy drink isn’t doing the job, just pop on “Regress to the Saturnine Chapter” and voila! You and your co-workers will be wide awake! It’s chock full of thrash/death metal hybrid riffing and the production is loud and tight. A couple of songs that stood out to me were “Dispelled” for its Barney-esque Napalm Death vocal barking and the instrumental, “Black Sirens Lurking” for bringing it down a notch after the initial barrage of cacophony.

While reading through the numerous comments for the video, “The Brotherhood of Destruction,” one comment in particular comment stood out. It basically asked why Misanthrope Monarch isn’t signed to a label such as Metal Blade or Nuclear Blast. This is a tricky question and most bands avoid answering this type of question altogether. My answer would be that those labels have so many bands like Misanthrope Monarch on their rosters already, they probably are only signing bands that are on the fringes or bands that are so hot, that they can’t look past them.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Misanthrope Monarch are either at the moment. However, they are up there in talent and professionalism and even though they might not be signed to a nice label yet, it’ll happen, just wait and see.