Returning after a two year hiatus, людоед, comes back with their fifth EP release titled, Monument of Human Cruelty. For those unfamiliar, they bring their own unique mixture of black metal and punk to create an all around groovy yet aggressive audial attack that goes straight to the throat. Compared to their last release Death of the Modern World, this release is much more melodic I’d say. Letting the punk-rock aspects take the lead while still having plenty of the raw black metal sound to keep things fresh.
Hard hitting d-beats, scratchy riffs, and bestial vocals are the name of the game with this EP. Людоед take the initiative and just jump straight into the thick of it. What I love about this band is that there’s no playing around or any gimmicky approaches other than just hard hitting metal. There’s no long intro with synths or any of that nonsense, the band just jumps straight to the point and rips it open with some fresh riffs. Thankfully this band doesn’t recycle any past guitar riffs or even sound the same from one release to the next. Each time they bring to the table something new and fully fleshed out. There’s no half-thoughts or floating ideas with this EP. The production is crisp and clear, but still raw and holds onto the massive sound these guys are able to build with their dissonant yet catchy song writing. What’s also great about that clean production is that you can really take in and appreciate just how tight this band plays together. Their full display of skill is on display with this EP and each of their releases before hand.
This EP is a must listen, any fan of metal would find this so much fun to listen to. Each song is written incredibly well with catchy riffs and headbanging jams that will be stuck in your head for hours. While this could’ve easily been paired with the previous release and be made into an album, this just feels like yet another tease for us in the west not able to see these Russian maniacs live as their recordings aren’t released as often. A full length album would leave me wondering how they’d approach it, but for now, this will certainly be added to my music rotation and it should for you as well.