The Bleeding – Monokrator
Release Date: 9th June 2023
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Thrash Metal, Death Metal, Speed Metal.
FFO: Kreator, Demolition Hammer, Sadus, Destruction.
Review By: Rick Farley
London born death/thrash champions The Bleeding are returning in full assault mode to unleash their third full-length album, Monokrator, set for release on Redefining Darkness Records. A blitzkrieg of spastic bursts of violence and complete fucking ferocity. This is one pissed off sounding album.
The Bleeding formed in 2010, while paying homage to old school influence from some of the greats (Exodus, Destruction, Death) and combing a ferocious fresh outlook within the thrash/death realm, are here to bash in your skull with a relentless thrash metal battering. After The band released an EP in 2013 and a major overhaul on their initial line-up, they released their first full length Rites of Absolution in 2017 and then their second full length Morbid Prophecy two years later, which garnered some major attention from the press. Now, with some hefty expectations, The Bleeding are on the cusp of putting the UK back on the map when it comes to high quality thrash metal.
Monokrator is an adrenaline fuelled, horror filled nightmare of constantly attacking savagery. An old school inspired barrage of sharp-edged riffs, killer grooves, classic gravely vocals with a bite (think a cross between Jeff Walker, Mille Petrozza and Chuck Schuldiner) surging thrashy basslines and rapid powerful drums all set to kill. Wearing several noticeable old school influences, The Bleeding blend death metal and thrash metal in such a way that makes it sounds newly crisp and electrifying while still maintaining one foot in the rotten old graves. So essentially the sounds of the old school, lit on fire and sent speeding towards a brick wall, ready to vaporize anything and everything at any moment.
Geared for hellish and brutal potency, Monokrator is still a total blast to listen to. Headbanging, pit stomping, punch your best friend kind of metal, amped up to way past eleven. Tracks like Chainsaw Deathcult which starts with a very classic thrash sounding slinky bassline from Jordan Muscatello, is a shot to the arm with influence from Kreator and Exodus just with much more ferocity and brutality. Ultra-fast and knife edge sharp riffs from guitarist Tasos on Union of Horror, could take your head clean off. At times, settling into a crunchy chug, you won’t know whether to headbang or wreck everything. Vocalist Jamie Stungo summons up Chuck Schuldiner’s vocal delivery more so on this track, which adds a more menacing vocal character. His brash vocals are a highlight throughout the entire album, adding gobs of bloody personality and extreme variance. Drummer James Loh bashes your bruised body with punishing blow after blow on Scream of Torment. Blistering double kick, tribalistic fills and undeniable headbanging grooves, it’s impossible not to spin your hair in delight.
Intricate thrashy riffs, death metal brutality, ripping solos, and a serious distaste for anything not violent, Monokrator smashes you just as hard at the end of the album as it does at the beginning. Although clocking it at barely thirty minutes, the album is painfully short. Another five or six minutes would have greatly improved the bang for the bang aspect of spending your hard-earned dollars. That aside, it’s nearly impossible to not love this album. Unless you straight up hate thrash/death metal that sounds both gloriously dated and freshly modern that’s hellbent on destroying everything, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better album from this timeless genre in 2023. 
(4 / 5)
