Monster album
Concept albums are usually THE make or break decision for a band – particularly if you are a rock/metal band. Extremely excellent concept albums over the years have been Queensryche's Operation Mindcrime I & II, Dream Theater's Scenes From A Memory, and even though its only half an album, Rush's 2112. At the time of conception, all three of these bands were at a crossroads, floundering and wondering what their next career moves were going to be.
Monsterworks have a story equally as bizarre as Rush's 2112. If the Final Frontier is your vision of happiness, it's a story of two worlds colliding into war. Spacial Operations follows the adventures of Capt. Sam Crow and her crew aboard space shuttle Rogue, the last remnant of the freighter Spectral Taihwha which is destroyed in an attack during a (supposedly) routine mission to Saturn. Chaos ensues, and the Rogue is catapulted into unknown space light years from Earth. Here they encounter a parallel human civilisation on the planet Corollas, itself beset with its own problems. At this point comparisons can be drawn with Star Wars (Thankfully no Jar Jar Binks). On Corollas, Price Gannon commands an elite Royal Spacial Forces group undertaking covert operations against the Kingdoms fiercest rival, the Gardar Empire, ruled by a reclusive Empress
With me so far.....Good! One thing is absolutely crystal clear, Monsterworks ARE a Metal Band, and as their site describes them, 'Image is nothing, Metal is everything'. Best get that onto a T-shirt before anyone else does. The first half of the album is a full assault on my little AOR melodic lug 'oles. Their musicianship is downright excellent, but vocally is not what can be described as accessible. If you love SYL, Judas Priest at their screamiest then you are under no misapprehension as to what you are getting into. Only on The Lonely Crown does the tempo quieten down into 'normal' mode. ( for about 1/3 of the song)
Generally the whole album is played at speed with a capital s-p-e-e-d! The albums a bit up its own arse, but that's what concept albums tend to be. Obviously, its all a bit of fun, if you don't take it too seriously. Vocally I cant cope with non-stop screaming, I just wished they'd have mixed it up a bit. But that's just me being pickey! Just you try and decipher a single lyric without the inlay I received - impossible
One important thing to note, Monsterworks have taken the unusual step of making this CD available for FREE download through their website. This in itself deserves a worthy mention (www.supermetal.net). This takes a great deal of bollocks to make your pride and joy available for nowt. It's a make or break decision that will hopefully work out for them. In the land of illegal download sites, if you want to try out something that is completely legit, support these boys. This alone deserves an extra couple of points on the score. Metal doesn't get much heavier than this
Musically a 9, having the balls for a free download 11 out of 13
Monsterworks WILL prosecute anyone caught purchasing the CD! You have been warned.