Live Review : Monuments + Kill The Lights @ Academy 3, Manchester on April 22nd 2022

There’s a massive mix of rock, metal and punk punters in the Manchester Uni bar tonight, as we see a band from each genre filling Academies 2, 3 and Club. It actually makes for a vibrant and exciting energy in the building and a chance to catch-up with other Rockflesh staff for a pre-gig pint. It’s soon time for Ryan and I to make our way up to Academy 3 though, and despite having a photo-pass tonight I take up position just to the side of what will become the moshpit. 

In fact the room continues to fill at a steady pace all the way through Kill The Lights support set. I’d not listened to any of their work before the gig, but knew they contained former Bullet For My Valentine drummer ‘Moose’ and bassist ‘Jay’ so I’m expecting a certain brand of metal. I’m not disappointed and they thrash through a very Bullet-esque array of tunes. There’s a large dose of Avenged Sevenfold to many of the tunes, with traditional guitar solos and evil galloping rhythms, and Killswitch Engage fans should check them out too. What’s really interesting though are the lead vocals from James Clark which remind me of Taproot, 36 Crazyfists and even early Thrice - his delivery mixes a raw power with a delightful soulful twang. Their set is really enjoyable and, whilst it feels like they’re still searching for that fully cohesive sound, they certainly have the pedigree and craft to be a big success.

Monuments were the last headline band I saw before the pandemic, and this gig tonight is in fact their first outing in two years. That last gig was my first chance to see the band since vocalist Andy Cizek had become a permanent member, and there are big changes once again to the band this time, as it’s a first chance to see them as a four piece with the exit of guitarist Olly Steele. So do they work as a four piece? Emphatically yes! If anything they now have even cohesion and fluidity that comes with clearly plenty of time spent honing their chemistry in the rehearsal room. They still demonstrate ridiculously technical proggy, djenty, funky metal, and with Cizek’s vocals the dynamics between atmospheric and heavy segments is even more stark. His melodic vocals are engagingly vulnerable, contrasting sharply with impressively deep guttural and forceful vocal shredding. John Browne (guitar) and Adam Swan (bass) provide a generous wall of sound behind those varying vocals, with generous use of palm-muted riffs, intricate finger-tapping and jagged guitar stabs alongside thunderous bass tones. Mike Malyan is immense on drums, delivering equally technical deliberately syncopated drumming and gives his all to every single hit. It would be easy for them to simply play through new songs from recent album release “In Stasis”, but they mix-up the set with tunes from every release. The crowd go wild for every song, lapping up the chance to see this special band once again. But the inevitable encore of ‘I, The Creator’ sees the place explode with passion and joy. What a night - things look rosy for Monuments to say the least.