"Reckoning" by Monastery
Review
When I reviewed the third instalment of the gradually building Monastery EP, it was December 2023. I expressed sentiments regarding the pleasure of hearing a narrative build and the anticipation of the next chapter, but I think I'd have been pretty daunted if I realised then that nearly a year would elapse before Part Four, named "Reckoning" emerged. It is ironic that the most recent single was called "2124" as it has felt like that might be a sign of when its successor would come out.
Anyway, we're promised it on 6th December & we can see how it fits with "2124" plus "Devil's Call" and "The Shore" which we already know from last year's releases (and the latter too from 'Hot Music Live Presents Volume Ten').
Psychologically, Monastery have played a long, brave & ultimately, I think successful game. I can't quibble at gaps between releases (these happen all too frequently for all sorts of understandable reasons) but one of this length between episodes of a narrative must be something of a record. Yet of course we like cliffhangers & being kept on tenterhooks don't we? The tension not to say anticipation only builds with the length of suspense & so popular are Monastery that I don't know that they ran any risks of goodwill eloping. They presumably have spent many months responding to questions of the "when will the next one be coming out" variety but they seem relaxed about that: it shows they have a good level of interest & demand. Personally, I've been one posing that question to them.
Well if you've been following the story, you could be expecting a climax approaching & the title is a decent sort of signal. Given the tale of Dark Ages violence & the innate sound of the band, Götterdämmerung must be on the cards as far as the narrative goes and if you are a "prog-doom-thrash heavy metal" band then you have the tools to reproduce this on record.
I gather that part of the delay was down to perfecting what was going out: they clearly have built up to "Reckoning" and so needed to ensure that it was a cumulation of the tension & excitement built up over the sequence of releases. The result is, you'll not be surprised to hear, pretty spectacular.
Harking back to the first chapter, something or someone demonic ushers the music in: if it's not Beelzebub guesting on vocals then someone has a most impressive guttural.
All this is an open invitation for bombast & plenty of it, but Monastery have too much class & deftness of touch: the blasts of instruments are each pretty heavy but tend to keep out of each other's way in respect so you get to hear them too (and once again the production is superb at enabling this while at the same time keeping the tracks together sufficiently to add up to an overall wall of satanic sound). This is commendable because each player sticks to service of the song & if your idea of a metal song is drums & guitars trying to outdo each other with a singer desperately attempting to clamber on top of the racket, you don't get it here. It may be conjuring up violence & Hades but Monastery are terribly respectful towards each other. Consequently when Liv does step into the song vocally, she is able to maintain that calm & narrative level which tells a story rather than demonstrating irrelevant acrobatics. Don't underestimate either the value of the rhythm section of Lewis & Kyle in underpinning the steady but unstoppable pace of the track: theirs is the long game too.
In fact, playing all four songs back to back, what strikes one is the consistency of the calmness: this is a story being told from a perspective of clarity & comprehension. If people are reaping what was coming to them, then she regards it as just and inevitable.
Stepping a little outside the boundaries of their preferred genres, this music is Wagnerian: the steady remorselessness of the songs contributes to this (and Josh's lead guitar on "Reckoning" is most orchestral) , as does the subject matter. Thus one can see each single as part of an epic & this also explains why the tone never reaches hysteria: Monastery sing of things fated & ordained.
That said, I'm no nearer nailing the precise story than I have been throughout: and maybe that doesn't matter. Too much specificity would rob us of our use of imagination & since they've spent so much time & ingenuity stimulating that, it would be a shame if we couldn't exercise it.
The narrator certainly seems ordained to meet her master & I'm reasonably sure that's the Devil: what's more with that sense of acceptance of fate, she certainly seems reconciled to this: a lot more confident & assertive than I'd be if I met him. But then it sounds like the protagonists of the saga have been serving him all along so presumably expect a reasonable deal under the circumstances. Though there definitely seems like a price will be paid of some sort.
I just hope we hear more from Monastery before December 2025. Rarity adds value but it can be a bit frustrating too.
