Monuments ended their EU and UK tour together with Heart Of A Coward and I Built The Sky with a blast in London.
Following the release of their latest single ‘Animus’ (2020, via Century Media Records), the British progressive metal outfit comprising vocalist Andy Cizek, both guitarists John Browne and Olly Steele, bassist Adam Swan and drummer Mike Malyan, Monuments hit the road ending their tour at the o2 Academy Islington in London bringing along Heart Of A Coward and I Built The Sky.
Monuments’ sound is a mix of soaring guitar riffs, breakdowns, heavy drumbeats and anthemic choruses. They show influences from different metal sub-genres such as groove metal and melodic hardcore fusing with djent, expanding their palette to a more alternative metalcore vibe on their latest full-length record ‘Phronesis’ (2018, via Century Media Records).
Having Heart Of A Coward and I Built The Sky as special guests the evening started off with loads of energy and guitar-driven riffs. Kicking off the night, the Australian I Built The Sky set the vibes with his cloud core ambient guitar sounds. Rohan, who started the project as a solo artist, was joined by some of his friends who covered bass and drums while on tour. Together, they created a thriving instrumental sound alternating between shredded riffs and ambient lead guitar melodies which created an uplifting and dream-like atmosphere setting the mood of the evening. The crowd seemed to enjoy the set and got excited about the following acts.
With the lights turning off and the intro of ‘Drown In Ruin’ kicking in, the British metal band Heart Of A Coward took the energy level to the next level and saw the crowd off their feet right from the start moshing around and singing along. They played a good mix of both newer and older songs with the focus on their most recent album ‘The Disconnect’ which was released in 2019 via Arising Empire. Especially the riff-heavy ‘Collapse’ and the more anthemic ‘Hollow’ seemed to be the crowd’s favourites while older songs such as ‘Shade’ and ‘Nauseum’ were much appreciated by the fans who have been with the band from the start. Alternating between heavy screams and melodically sung choruses accompanied by brutal breakdowns and technical metal riffs they created tension and an explosive atmosphere which was well received by the audience. Heart Of A Coward left the crowd with the heavy ‘Deadweight’, well prepared and warmed up for the last band of the evening.
With the lights dimming again for the last time, the intro of Blue Sky Thinking kicked in and everyone sang the anthemic chorus on the top of their lungs. They played a good mix of all their releases catering to both old and new fans who enjoyed themselves moshing around. The band seemed to enjoy their time on stage seemingly switching between hitting breakdowns and groovy and anthemic choruses which animated the audience to sing along. Their latest single ‘Animus’ was well received and fitted smoothly in the setlist. Towards the end, Andy jumped off the stage and joined the several crowd surfers being carried by a sea of hands before leaving the stage after playing ‘A.W.O.L.’ and ‘I, The Creator’ as their encores.
Overall, it was a special time with a great lineup and amazing music. Both the bands on stage and the audience seemed to have a great time. The crowd enjoyed themselves moshing around and singing along which was highly appreciated by all the bands who were thankful for a successful tour.
Venue: o2 Academy Islington
Band: Monuments
Support: I Built The Sky, Heart Of A Coward
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A Special Time 