The Monolith Deathcult make me despair for the state of modern Metal.  Not by the very fact of their existence, Steel Panther-style, but because they’re nowhere near as well-regarded as they should be. With Triumvirate (Twilight Vertrieb) and Tetragrammaton (Season of Mist) they’re responsible for two of the most distinctive, perfectly-formed and blackly comic Death Metal albums of the last decade. Both shocking and funny in a truly unique way, they blend brutal Death Metal, enormous grooves, dance music and Transformers samples into two albums that, in a just world, would be regarded as modern classics, which makes writing this review an unpleasant task, because Bloodcvlts (Season Of Mist), I’m truly sorry to say, is nowhere near that good.

Initially it appears that their sense of irreverence and lack of respect for tradition is right to the front with Bloodcvlts, an 8 track “EP” lasting over forty minutes, but it quickly becomes clear that the designation isn’t just two fingers to the conventions of the music business. Despite its length, Bloodcvlts is emphatically not a new TMDC album, and it proves itself disappointingly lacking in the things that would make that such an exciting prospect, including precisely that irreverence and humour.

There’s little significantly wrong with Bloodcvlts.  ‘I Conquistador’ is relatively weak, and the final two tracks are de-Metalled reworkings of previously released songs (and not terrible for it, though perhaps a little pointless), but the rest is perfectly entertaining symphonic/industrialised Death Metal with some catchy moments. Their knack for combining both groove and violence is still there, but divorced from the dark humour, bold experimentation and the sense of whole-album dramatics that make Triumvirate and Tetragrammaton so special, they count for considerably less than they used to.

Bloodcvlts, then, is a perfectly enjoyable release which is nevertheless resoundingly disappointing. It’s like going to Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant and being served steak and chips – there’s nothing wrong with it, but because you were expecting something distinctive and bold you can’t help but be disappointed.

6.0/10

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RICHIE HR