Monsterworks

Monsterworks sounds like the name of a bad haunted house. Much like a ghostly abode, Album of Man isn't scary, unless you're afraid of metal. That's exactly what Monsterworks are: metal. Sometimes you're hard-pressed to categorize a band as anything other than that. This can be attributed to their influences being so varied that additional analysis would be a disservice or because their music is simply too boring to warrant deeper scrutiny. It's a bit of both in the case of Monsterworks. Sure, there are plenty of influences: a heavy metal foundation topped with progressive leanings, with alternating power metal and growled vocals piled on top, while thrash sometimes takes the wheel and puts the pedal to the metal. However, it leads to a bit of a boring clusterfuck of a listen, which is only furthered by the weird rock ballads. It's a shame because "Taste of Doom" is a banging (and cohesive) trip through much of metaldom, proving the band's capable, though ultimately under-utilized, talents.