Artist: Monsterworks 
   Title: Spacial Operations
   Label: Independent Release

I’m all for initiative is this cut throat business and one band that has taken the bull by it's horns are Monsterworks, who's latest release 'Spacial Operations' is available to all for free.  Yes you read that right FREE! and believe me there’s nothing better than free.

The band follow their two previous albums with 'Spacial Operations' and are making their album readily available to download for free from www.supermetal.net from the 18^th June.  The album takes their ballsy mix of hardcore, thrash, death and classic rock to the extreme with this metal space adventure concept album.

Opening up with ‘Leaving Home’ the first leg of their intrepid trip to rock supernova takes place I presume at a space port.  This melts into the album opener proper ‘Firefight’, like most of the album a no holds barred bone crusher of a track with the fiery vocals of Jon spewing out an unearthly tone, together with the guitars of Ian just rampaging through at breakneck speed.  This combined with the pulsating rhythm section of Hugo on bass and James on drums, sets you up for the intense metal of the rest of the album.

They continue their bone melting path with the thunderous tones of ‘Spacial Forces’ and ‘November’.  This heady mix of pumping bass and drums is topped with those unmistakable howlings of vocalist Jon and some definite Bay Area infused guitar work by both Jon and Ian.  The album then takes a definite darker swing with the death metal vibe of ‘Stars Malign’, a track that also displays a few more melodic metal moments in between the thrashing attack.

We return to the more traditional hardcore thrash roots with ‘Defenders of the Southern Cross’ with its cascading guitars and monstrous back beat, with Jon showing both his intense and dark sides vocally.

You'd think the album has taken on a whole new mellower sound with the beginning of ‘The Lonely Crown’, with its sometimes transcendent feel, but this is just a smoke screen as the more intense Monsterworks sound takes over mid section then it's back to the face melting metal before the track closes once again with the more gentler refrain.

We're soon back to the more intense stuff with the powerdriven ‘Hysterical Rapture’ and the equally extreme feel of 'Pain And Elation’, before we return to the bands more sedate side with the instrumental ‘Parallelysis’.  Although once again this is merely a short lived rest bite as it's back to the full on metal assault with ‘Alliance’ before the instrumental ‘Exfiltration’, which shows the band aren’t all about the hardcore, they can play a bit as well.

'Voyage of Magma Maiden’ is straight out of the European death metal school with its growling vocal and speed induced guitar sound, with a few thrash riffs and thumping bass thrown into the mix for good measure.

The album closes with another instrumental 'To Be Continued ...’ that wraps up a very different and multi layered album.  To be honest I’m not a great fan of the death/thrash Metal scene but the instrumental pieces are just my cup of tea and would fit into any Progressive/Power Metals repertoire quite easily.

A final note of warning that the band are so serious about this album being free that they are, and I quote ... “considering prosecuting anyone found buying of selling the album” ... so you have been warned!!! 

If you're a fan of thrash or death metal then head on over to the bands website and download your copy of the album for free - www.supermetal.net , you've got nothing to loose and a whole new album of songs to add to your collection if you dig what they're doing.

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