originally written by Erik Thomas
Along with Evocation, Fleshcrawl, Bloodbath and such, Nominon is definitely one of the more qualified and experienced purveyors of old school Swedish death metal, with past and present members serving in a host of underground and large name bands (Marduk, Thy Primordial, Incinerator, Choronzon, In Aeternam, The Legion, Bergraven and many more). The band really came into their own with their third effort, 2007s Terra Necrosis, as it was one of the better Stockholm homages of late, even adding a little more aggression and Grave love to the tried and true formula.
However, some line-up changes have occurred since Terra Necrosis, and it shows somewhat, most notably in the vocals, where Daniel Garptoft has been replaced by guitarist Erik Sahlström on a majority of the tracks. While his voice is serviceable, Sahlström has a more thrash-based, higher-register throaty roar that lacks the oomph and menace required for this style of death metal, although he has a nice growl here and there (“Kevorkian Exit”). (Eviscerated’s Henki Skogge has apparently taken over on vocals since recording this album.)
Luckily, the music has retained the early Grave sense–raw Stockholm death metal with a primal rumble and fetid blast beats delivering mid-range filth–that fans of ‘that’ sound will revel in, although to these ears, that sense seems to have been lessened just a tad, at least production-wise. Song-wise, the balance is between churning, distinctly Stockholm grooves (“Undead Beast”), steady canters and a few suitably ragged (in a good way) blast beats (“Mountain of Hate,” “Worm,” “Omen,” “Archfiend”), and all of it with the unmistakable Stockholm scrawl and mood that you just know when you hear (i.e. the mid-section of” “Mantra Reverse,” “Archfiend” and “Worship”).
On the whole, though, while it’s a very solid Swedish styled death metal album, Monumentomb is a slight step back from Terra Necrosis, and I’ve been more apt to throw in the recent Black Breath album for my fix of this style in 2010.
