Progressive metal luminaries Monuments are back

 Their most innovative work yet is their new album, Phronesis. The transcontinental metallers sated fans and made new ones across Europe, Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, sharing the stage with Protest the Hero, Animals As Leaders, Karnivool, After the Burial, and Devin Townsend.

   When Monuments returned home, it was time to heal up physically and mentally. The opportunity to mend minds and heal wounds not only fortified Monuments, it afforded primary songwriter John Browne space to craft Monuments’ best material to date. Coupled with vocalist Chris Barretto’s “blank slate” lyrical mandate, Phronesis isn’t about starting over but rather moving forward. “I find that I’ve always thrived when writing about subjects that trouble me,” says guitarist/principal songwriter John Browne. “I always have written music to objectively relate it to points in time, points of chaos, and how it related to my universe. That made the writing process difficult for me, writing as a blank slate with no relation to an event involved in my perception. My personal relationship with the meaning of the record started at ‘Stygian Blue,’ which was the second song I wrote back in 2015. This song came to be while I was in the darkest place I’ve ever been in my 32 years. We all had a bunch of issues that needed time to let heal, so in between writing we were fixing our broken souls.”

Monuments are on the leading edge of musical virtuosity, vocal superiority, and lyrical smarts. Progressive metal is ready for Monuments to take the genre to new heights with Phronesis. “Phronesis is definitely a turning point,” says Browne, “The production is better, the songs are solid, and it’s brought us back together again after a difficult few years. I believe the record is solid and I’m excited for everyone to hear it and hopefully enjoy it.”

MONUMENTS are: Chris Barretto (vocals), John Browne (guitar), Olly Steele (guitar), Adam Swan (bass), and Daniel ‘Lango’ Lang (drums, samples). Expect to see Monuments on stage at HMAC 2019.