Band: The Monolith Deathcult
Title: The White Crematorium 2.0
Label: Twilight Zone Records
Distribution: Bertus
Release date: 19/03/2010
Review: CD (re-release)

The White Crematorium, The Monolith Deathcult’s second studio recording, was originally released in 2005 through Karmageddon Music, and I did consider this disc one of the best Death Metal releases that very same year. After the release of the third album, Trivmvirate (2008), the members wanted to start on the re-recording of that second album, with the goal to give The White Crematorium that brute heaviness Trivmvirate was known for. Don’t ask me why, because the original was heavy-as-f*ck, that’s a certainty.
Anyway, T.W.C. 2.0 is a sledge-hammering pearl, just like the original, as well as the other albums, and the sound penetrates with shivering undivinity. The energy is almost unnatural, and the addition of keyboards – not whole the time yet nicely used – is superb. The tempo varies from fast to blasting, yet more than once the whole slows down (kindly supported by AJ van Drenth of Beyond Belief / Legion-fame).
The re-issue comes with an electronic, somewhat hyper-kinetic, bonus song, Kindertodestanz, and a multi-media-part with four additional mp3-tracks.
Line-up: Michiel Dekker (g, v; still or formerly involved with Dead Head, Beyond Belief and Eternal Conspiracy), Martijn Moes (g; Toxocara, Eternal Conspiracy, Legion), Carsten Altena (k; ex-Izegrim; brother of producer Pascal), Robin Kok (b, v), and Sjoerd Visch (d; Beyond Belief, Infernorama, ex-Altar, ex-To Elysium etc).

---/100

Ivan Tibos.