Enraged Monkeys – No Compromise CD (Hicktown Records)

This band caught my attention even before I heard their debut single Leave The Sea. As a longtime fan of Planet Of The Apes movies, comics, books, and the entire franchise, I couldn’t avoid this band by any means. I was even more surprised no one ever considered this franchise for a possible visual/thematical aesthetics for the band, as far as my knowledge goes. Luckily, German death/thrash quintet Enraged Monkeys got on the idea to exploit these thematics to the max. The group announced a debut material a couple of months ago, and the label contacted me for a possible review. I was expecting a vinyl record as we both agreed on those terms but received a compact disc that I needed to hunt down all over the place because someone sent it to an old address. Oh well, at least it came in one piece, so I cannot complain.

No Compromise carries thirteen compositions, including a grimy piano overture and a classic Planet Of The Apes monologue “Beware the beast Man, for he is the Devils pawn”. Perhaps the group is heavily influenced by German thrash metal and Swedish melodic death metal, but you can also stumble upon some black metal maneuvers and nineties hardcore acrobatics. These additional elements are vividly hearable throughout the entire album, cleverly measured not to spoil the primary death/thrash aesthetics. Enraged Monkeys solely rely upon thoughtfully arranged guitar shreds and highly dynamic drumming performance. The lead vocals are continuously levitating somewhere in between classic thrash metal and hardcore shoutouts, with sporadical explorations into lower chants that are resembling growling. These chanting technics perfectly match the dark, grimy, post-apocalyptic, dystopian themes of Planet Of The Apes. The group also introduces the melancholic/saddened melodies and harmonies, which are quite characteristics of neo-crust, blackened crust, and doom metal bands.

Enraged Monkeys sometimes goes down the doom metal waters, especially if we’re talking about the moderate or slower tempos, so the beforementioned melancholic melodies and harmonies are come in handy. Each composition carries slightly different vibes. Therefore, you may stumble upon the numbers where the band articulates as a classic thrash metal band, but the next one may sound like traditional black metal or modern crust punk composition. This material acts as a comprehensive collection built upon all the musical interests of its band members. As much as it may sound diverse, it is quite harmonious and well-combined into a giant slab of flawlessly articulated noise. No Compromise will be such a treat to all the fans of the Planet Of The Apes franchise who’s looking out for some cleverly performed death/thrash music. Head over to Enraged Monkeys’ official website or check out Hicktown Records for more detailed information about purchasing this banging material on vinyl or compact disc.