Monumentum
Metastasi 1987 - 2004

"Metastasis," truly an ugly and sinister word! But what does metastasis have to do with Roberto Mammarella's project? I don't know!

What I do know, from the depths of my ignorance, is that the disc in question is the latest creation from this erratic, brilliant, and obscure tricolor project.

But who were the Monumentum, then? There are two reviews on DeBaser, so avoid making me repeat things already written! What’s that? It’s precisely the reviewer’s job? Well, I'll try to fulfill it!

Monumentum is the brainchild of the already mentioned Roberto Mammarella, a shadowy figure in Milan's underground scene, known internationally for having produced none other than "Live in Leipzig" by Mayhem (an epochal album!) and for having collaborated with numerous doom and black metal bands, as well as for his unyielding activity with Avantgarde Records.

An enigmatic, cryptic, reclusive figure, far from the spotlight and the chatter of the damned Italian press. A character who, precisely for this reason, is beloved.

After a Split with the Greeks Rotting Christ (don’t ask me for details about it!), and after a now-unavailable demo, Monumentum released their first record in the distant year of 1996 with "In Absentia Christi." A sulfurous and gloomy album, distant from metal extremisms and closer, rather, to the gothic/dark of Fields of the Nephilim’s "Elizium," the harrowing sound of Christian Death, and the ethereal atmospheres of Dead Can Dance. The album also presented some doom-psychedelic inflections and a touch of dark Mediterranean warmth. A record to have and savor every note of!

After years of absolute silence, Mammarella and other musicians decided to resurrect the Monumentum name, releasing the second and controversial "Ad Nauseam" in 2002. However, things had changed quite a bit! Mammarella distanced himself from the esoteric gothic of his beginnings to craft an album that was still dark but heavily influenced by electronics and cruder and more mature reflections. A cold work, not on par with the debut, but still necessary to understand the torments of this nightmare investigator (there is another but, besides the clarinet, he doesn't play in any band!).

And then? The dissolution! But can we speak of a real dissolution? Or is it a new and long period of pause? You decide!

In any case, after announcing the presumed dissolution of his act, Mammarella decided to release this strange and disturbing collection. "Metastasis" gathers rarities, covers, and other material produced by the dark Milanese minstrel from the early '90s to the dawn of the new millennium.

"La Noia Nella Casa Del Dolore" is perhaps the best and most interesting track of the entire album. A track that reprises a letter written by Giacomo Leopardi, here tragically recited by the oppressive voice of Giuseppe Imprezzabile, paired with dark musical devilry. Forgetting this sublime composition would be a crime! If you then are those who go crazy for Lacrimosa... well, just leave it alone!

Equally beautiful is "The Colour Of Compassion," slow and measured, in Monumentum's classic style. Noteworthy are also the covers of "Windfall" (Dead Can Dance), "Fade To Grey" (already present on "In Absentia Christi" but slightly different here), "Theme One" (Ain Soph), and the version of "Black And Violet" (Death SS).

For the rest, you will encounter alternative or "remixed" versions of tracks from the two previous records.

This cemetery experience could not end in a different way! Starting from pessimistic suggestions and ending in the most gloomy and desolate fatalism. Perhaps, unbeknownst to us, Mammarella only wanted to mock us, or perhaps this man truly wanted to translate his anguish and malaise into notes. But questions of this kind, besides being destined to find no answer, prove to be of little relevance! Naturally, the useless dark puppets (children of good families and depressed by fashion) will be the first to yawn when listening to Monumentum. Swaying and wobbling their brains, which even under torture will fail to tune into these magical frequencies, have proven to be the main enemies of anyone like Mammarella, who has managed to write excellent music without unnecessary rhetoric and without vulgar self-congratulation!

Brutal, heartfelt, and light years away from the gothic garbage dump.