It’s been a while since we’ve cracked a cold one with the readers, so let’s change that! I gotta clean out the ol’ beer fridge anyway. Drink from the cup of heresy with me, folks. This week’s offerings: Monachopsis’ The Carcass Choir and Prairie St. Brewing Company’s Screw City.
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The Tunes: Monachopsis’ The Carcass Choir
Monachopsis might not be household names in the tech death scene the way Inferi, Allegaeon and Obscura are, but they have been grinding it out for a decade now, and The Carcass Choir is both their third EP and a celebration of everything they have accomplished this far in their career. The EP is composed of two brand new tracks, two rerecorded versions of tracks that have been mainstays since they were first released on their debut EP From Mind to Eye, and one honest-to-god Darkest Hour cover as an homage to the band’s biggest influence. I know I definitely don’t think “tech-death” when I think of Darkest Hour, but it makes sense: Monachopsis are very heavy on groove, melody and hooks in their brand of technicality, and that is where the D.C. metalcore comes into play. Add to that some serious guitar wizardry, orchestral programming and crunchy, chunky riffs and you have something that, while short, is punctuated by a lot of really cool moments that both long-time listeners will appreciate and the uninitiated should be curious about.
The first of the new tracks recorded for this EP and the title track opens up with a pretty ironically dumb-guy riff before launching firmly into the acrobatics of Richard Allsopp, whose technical prowess sings across the five tracks. In addition to guitar, he also handles all the piano, synths and drum and orchestra programming, which show up prominently on the second brand new track, “Letters from the Doomsday Vault.” The harmonized lines in particular on this one are some of my favorite moments on The Carcass Choir. It’s not tech death that hits you over the head or at breakneck speed, but rather allows the technicality to sing with a good balance of memorability and theatricality. Sitting directly in the middle of the EP is the aforementioned Darkest Hour cover, which is altogether faithful, almost to a fault. I think they could have mixed it up a little more and made it a little techier, but hey; it’s all about showing your roots and they definitely did that. Similarly, the final two tracks don’t differ from their original recording except in quality. The Carcass Choir seems like a release that is poised to bring in new fans, what with featuring classic favorites and a cover of a pretty notable band and all. It’s solid and accessible enough that I think it will do just that.
The Carcass Choir is available now on Monachopsis’ Bandcamp page. For more information on Monachopsis, visit their Facebook page.
The Booze: Prairie St. Brewing Company’s Screw City
A gift from Angela on her way back from her bachelorette party, because I had my bachelor party the same weekend, and god knows I didn’t have enough beer. And hey, Screw City might be a light, crisp lager like it says on the can, but sometimes that is exactly what the body needs. What it isn’t is light on flavor, which is good, because I wouldn’t go to a craft beer place hours away from home for something watered down. Screw City is a pretty killer lager all things considered, and it has just the right amount of bite and punch with a crisp clean finish that keeps you going back for sip after sip.
Well, that felt good! Let’s do it again before too long, eh? Cheers, and be good to each other.
—– Ian