Monument of Misanthropy – Unterweger
Release Date: 12th November 2021
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Brutal Death Metal
FFO: Suffocation, Benighted, Aborted, Dying Fetus.
Review By: Paul Cairney
A read through the history of Monument of Misanthropy will let you know that there was a wee bit of a stramash with regards to the name after a fall out between 2 protagonists in 2018 or thereabouts. Vocalist George ‘Misanthrope’ Wilfinger won the battle and so 2021 sees the launch of the band’s 2nd album, Unterweger.
The reality is that Monument of Misanthropy is basically a new band, with Wilfinger being the only original member, so one has to wonder if the battle to keep the band name was worth the grief.
At about 39 minutes long, Unterweger is an intense, brutal death metal album that seeks to pulverise your skull with a meat hammer. Based on the Austrian serial killer, Jack Unterweger – yes, I had to ‘Duck Duck Go’ myself (I don’t use google due to it’s ropey tracking practices) – it has a subject matter that matches the intensity of the riffs on show. As a result, the album features verbalised images of strangulation throughout, which in itself is a bit of a futile attempt to add atmosphere to the album.
Unterweger is incredibly heavy. It will crush the spleen of the unprepared and could probably impregnate those who open themselves and welcome the aggression on display. The problem is that it is unrelenting. The intensity makes it problematic to discern any notable differences between the tracks.
Vocally, the album is superb. Wilfinger is a gifted metal vocalist, reminding you of Corpsegrinder, and there can be no higher compliment. A couple of guest vocalists are employed on the album, Julien Truchan of Benighted fame on The Mysterious Hollywood Hat-Trick and Aborted main man Sven De Caluwe on Miami Vice – Miami Gold. Truth be told, the guest vocalists are not really necessary as Wilfinger kills it on Unterweger, being, by an impressively large margin, the best thing about the album.
This is not to say that Unterweger is not worthy of your time. It has some mightily impressive songs. Closing track, ‘Fall From Grace’ is a Death Metal tour-de-force, making use of every second of its running time. The guitar work is exceptional, and the track stands proudly above the rest of the album.
Whilst it is debatable whether it was worth fighting for the name, considering the band only had 1 previous full-length album and a couple of E.P.’s, the fact it that Monument of Misanthropy are now Wilfinger’s band and so the success or failure of this album are essentially on his shoulders. 
(3 / 5)
