Monstrosity - Rise To Power (2003)

I am a fan of Monstrosity but their sound is a sum of many alreadye xisting parts. I've read numerous reviews of this record and opinion seems divided. Although a majority of death metal fans like the record, and the band for that matter, no-one ever sems to be bowled over by them. When these Floridian's marched on to the scene originally we already had a glut of death metal bands to contend with - Morbid Angel, Death, Obituary, Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Gorguts and the like, and for Monstrosity for always a little too mundane - despite being excellent musicians - to break out from the pack. Fair play to them for sticking to their guns, they've always stuck to the task of hand, that being to churn out heavy no thrills death metal. Those who know nothing of death metal would probably find 'Rise To Power' a similar affair to their other records, and that'd be a fair comment but there's so many different dynamics to this sort of mind ripping metal, from the deep, gutturla growls to the immense hyper drums and those pounding, shifting riffs which fuse the whole mess together. I think Monstrosity, and 'Rise To Power' need to be appreciated for what it is rather than worrying about how 'The Exordium' may have a few Morbid Angel inspired riffs. Monstrosity emerged from a death metal fad in the early '90s and still exist today, a machine worth its weight even if its one that refuses to bow to originality. 7/10