Nominon - Monumentomb

April 30, 2010

Reviewer: Kesh

Death metal could very easily be compared to wine, in that while few appreciate it, the ones who do can tell a good act when they hear one. Also, like with wine, there are countries that are better known for producing good death metal, and others that have one or two shining stars and that's it. Sweden would be analogous to France in this comparison, having an almost formulaic metal scene that is known and admired the world over. Like a fine French wine, there is nothing better than a good homegrown Swedish death metal act.

Nominion have been around since 1993, but they have only released four full-length albums, the latest of which, Monumentomb, is pretty standard death metal - complete with the "made in Sweden" export that metal-heads the world over have come to look for. Okay - there is no "Made in Sweden" mark, but I think that if there was, many would search for it and feel comfortable they were getting a good, quality product.

Like I said, Nominion have been around for seventeen years, and while they only have four full albums to their discography, they have almost twice as many split discs and EPs as many bands have full albums. But does that mean that they have four crappy albums? Well, to be honest it’s somewhat so-so for me with their previous albums, but Monumentomb, while not the best thing I’ve heard, is definitely not the worst thing I’ve heard. So far, it’s their best release. I actually like Monumentomb; the album captures a certain quality that reminds me of old school Obituary or possibly Napalm Death. Some of the album going reminds me of a really heavy Slayer with death metal growls.

Thematically, the album is pretty standard, touching on fail-safe death metal elements like death, destruction and hatred - all which sound good, and are approached pretty standardly. With track titles like "Archfiend," "Mountain of Hate," and "Wrath of Shiva" - it's apparent what I’m talking about. Please don't let that deter you though. It will be worth your time to check the album out.

But if you aren't impressed by the lyrical and thematic elements of the disk, what will impress you is the music itself. The guitars alone really live up to that made up "Made in Sweden" mark. Just the sheer thrash on the track "Undead Beast" will force any metal head worth his weight in blood and guts want to bang their head and whiplash themselves into the ER.

After listening to this album, my hopes are that Nominion sounds as good live as they do on the album. Intensity of the disc alone wills me to go find the nearest ticketing agent and go mosh myself into a frenzy with the other thrashers in the scene.

Release Date: March 23rd, 2010
Label: Deathgasm Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  Mantra Reverse
2.  Archfiend
3.  Undead Beast
4.  Kevorkian Exit
5.  Omen
6.  Mountain Of Hate
7.  Worm
8.  Worship
9.  Wrath Of Shiva

Total playing time:  39:53

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