Bestial Invasion – Monomania

Bestial Invasion

Monomania

by Gary Hernandez at 20 February 2020, 9:48 AM

BESTIAL INVASION (an oh-so misleading moniker credited to a track from DESTRUCTION’s first album) is a Technical Thrash metal band hailing from the Ukraine where they formed in 2014. In November 2019 they released their third full-length album, “Monomania.” Unlike said malady, the album is immensely complex and multifaceted. Technical musicians will have a thirty-six minute, forty-three second eargasm; normal mortal metal heads will stand aghast in awe; non-metal fans will suffer from spontaneous cranium implosion.

"Monomania" spans eight tracks, features one cover, “Retribution” (ATHEIST), and welcomes two guest artists: Kelly Shaefer (ATHEIST) and Doug Piercy (BLIND ILLUSION, ex-HEATHEN). Thematically, well, on one level the songs cover the gamut from history to religion to philosophical introspection; on another level, they might be encrypted codes to the lost treasures of Tuatha De Danan for all I know. The lyrics are easily available online. Knock yourself out.

If you haven’t experienced BESTIAL INVASION, I mean the band, not some fetish you might be harboring, think Frank Zappa and Chick Corea but thoroughly metalized. For vocals, think Geoff Tate. Personally, I don’t get it . . . but in the same way that I don’t get theoretical physics. I can appreciate the implied effects, but I can’t comprehend the mathematics it took to get there. With that said, my favorite tracks are “The Period of Tragedy,” “Memories. The Architect of the Universe,” “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” and “Retribution.” For sheer shits and grins, there’s “Deny Your Future” which showcases a minute of some smoky lounge song played on a turntable before the needle is wrenched off and the mechanism is shot with what I imagine is a 357 Magnum.

I have to admit that bands like this intimidate the crap out of me. Aesthetically, there are moments that blow me away. Serg MP’s bass lines are riveting, for instance. Some of the riffs are immensely mean, and there are solos on this album that are imbued with as much earnest pathos as they are precision logos. The production values, of course, are off the charts. In the end though, technical bands are like reading James Joyce’s “Ulysses” — it’s supposed to be good, but damn that’s a tough read. With that said, I have read “Ulysses” and I do recommend “Monomania.”

Songwriting: 9
Musicianship: 10
Memorability: 6
Production: 10