Album Review: 30,000 Monkies – Honesty Integrity Friendship Passion (Consouling Sounds)

Belgian experimental metal band, 30,000 Monkies will release their brand-new album, Honesty Integrity Friendship Passion on September 30th, 2022 via Consouling Sounds.

Kicking off this new release with a cacophony of clamour and passion. 30,000 Monkies submerge the listener in the mire of experimental noise that is as harsh to the ears as it is delightful to experience. Screeching guitars, pounding percussion and wailing vocals, Honesty is an eye-opening start. One that is completely unpredictable. Just try and explain the latter part of this track to someone unfamiliar with this band. It’s going to be impossible.

Yet, it’s that oddness and 30,000 Monkies ability to keep you guessing, that makes Honesty Integrity Friendship Passion such a thrill ride.

How do they follow that? With a track completely based in atmosphere. Integrity is all about creating a sense of foreboding and dread, yet with an epic, grander touch that builds and builds. It’s over 5-minutes long and feels half that, as once again, 30,000 Monkies keep you on your toes. Everyone will be expecting a sudden shift into heavier metal territories but it never comes. Instead, it fades out and we then get Friendship.

Where a similar state of grandness exists but quickly, this track descends into wacky depths. The same sounds used in different ways, eventually, when it does start to move in different directions, it just gets even more unusual. Leading to an impossibly heavy experience, 30,000 Monkies deliver one hell of a challenging listen here.

Although, all those words can apply to the gargantuan finale of Passion too. A track that is nearly 13-minutes long and a near-perfect blend of dissonance and disorder. Where peculiar effects slam headfirst into fuzzy and feedback laden metal. Doomy and dark; 30,000 Monkies really take their time here and it pays off. Passion is a spectacular track that captivates in ways unheard this year and maybe even longer. Eccentric, eclectic and enormous. It’s the showcase of this album.

You’re going to have to experience Honesty Integrity Friendship Passion for yourself to fully understand it, but you’ll be glad you did.

30,000 Monkies – Honesty Integrity Friendship Passion Full Track Listing:

1. Honesty
2. Integrity
3. Friendship
4. Passion

Links

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