REVIEW: Monsters - After Death [EP/2026]
Artist: Monsters
Album: After Death - EP
This time last year, I don’t think a full-blown reunion of Chicago heavyweights Monsters was on anyone’s bingo card. Some fifteen years after their last studio record and the adversity that accompanied it, the band would do just that—announce a one-night-only reunion in direct support of Chicago deathcore act Oceano, and, now, twelve months later…well, here we are, listening to the first new Monsters release since 2011. Aptly named, After Death is a striking return to barbaric, explosive aggression that sees the grisly bounce of The Righteous Dead and, to a lesser degree, nu-metallic buzz of songs like “Sin Spitter” thrust into the mid-2020s. As energetic and catchy as it is visceral, groovy and punishing, After Death is a punchy, fun and—of course—heavy release from one of the lesser known legacy acts of the midwest brought back to life after a long slumber.
From the tumbling, uproarious percussion that opens the eponymous first track to the crushing breakdowns throughout “Will of Igris” and “Murder Magik,” if one thing should be abundantly clear throughout After Death, it is that Monsters have not lost their penchant for heaviness. If anything, After Death sees the band lean further into primal, straightforward aggression and less towards the bouncy nu-metallic tendencies of Monsters. This is pervasive in “Will of Igris,” the EP’s lead single that launches an all-out war on the listener—but also evident just about everywhere else throughout After Death. “Murder Magik,” is, perhaps the cut that evokes the most nostalgic feel for 2011-era Monsters. Here, bouncy kick drum patterns launch the track into a groove highlighted by a crunchy bass and dense, chugging guitars—a pattern that only devolves into more outright brutality by the time it closes with a breakdown that is best described as soul-smothering. The pressure built up by five tracks of blistering aggression finally lets up with “Outro,” a two-and-a-half minute long song that blends a thread of atmosphere, melody and ethereality atop a canvas of bouncy drumming in a fashion that, for lack of a better term, feels like it came right out of a 2008 deathcore album interlude. “Outro” is a much needed reprieve from the ten minutes of terror Monsters subject the listener to in the form of concrete-cracking chugs and skin-rending breakdowns not only as a pleasant cool-down, but as a means of the act including variety to break up a dense, solid set of sinister tracks.
Where Monsters do a lot of things right when it comes to the instrumentation throughout After Death, they follow suit with a robust vocal performance. Defined by raw mid-range yells and visceral, hefty bellows, After Death sees frontman Frankie Pierri continuing to dominate just as he did on The Righteous Dead close to twenty years ago. “Lamb” is a faster-paced cut that sees Pierri’s endurance and cadence put to the test, where “Murder Magik” sees him and Bodysnatcher’s Kyle Medina working overtime on matching the vicious, misanthropic tone set forth by the song’s crushing musicianship. Pierri doesn’t reinvent the wheel on After Death, and that’s more than fine. He delivers exceptionally, adding a sharp, vicious touch to each song without frills or superfluous gimmicks.
After Death has its moments where it truly feels like a revitalized and focused follow-up to The Righteous Dead—which is outstanding praise in itself. Those who were hoping for the groove-heavy, ultra-bouncy nu metal leanings of the band’s 2011 release will probably be a little disappointed—there isn’t much of that to be found in favor of a more outright assault on the listener’s eardrums by way of vicious breakdowns and crushing downbeat sections. Despite that, to say Monsters have delivered with a strong comeback release would be accurate, if not even a slight understatement, as After Death stands robustly as an excellent return to form that I don’t think anyone saw coming.
8/10
For Fans Of: Bodysnatcher, Rooks, Jerome, Hysterian, Varials
Connor Welsh