Buried but Not Gone: Monstrosity Resurface With Purpose

Released: March 13, 2026

Florida death metal in 2026 has a weight problem—not too little, but too much history to carry. Most bands from that era are either headlining nostalgia tours or releasing records that disappear the same week they drop. Monstrosity have spent most of their career somewhere in between, which makes Screams From Beneath the Surface land a little differently. This is one of the stronger death metal records you’ll hear this year, even if it doesn’t announce itself that way.

The band has never quite received the credit they deserve, partly because George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher left after two albums and took a lot of casual attention with him, and partly because they’ve never leaned as far into extremity as their Tampa peers. What they’ve always had is versatility—the ability to move between brutality and melody without forcing the transition. This record leans into that more than anything they’ve done in years, helped by a lineup that sounds fully settled. Vocalist Ed Webb fits naturally, and drummer Lee Harrison, the one constant across every era of the band, turns in some of his sharpest work here.

“Banished to the Skies” is a bold opener. It avoids the expected full-speed attack, instead moving slower and more deliberately, with clean guitar passages and melodic leads threading through the weight. It takes a moment to settle, but it sets the tone clearly. “The Colossal Rage” follows with a faster, more direct approach, the riff work both technical and genuinely engaging without tipping into excess. “The Atrophied” keeps that momentum while adding a melodic undercurrent that gives Webb room to stretch, and “Spiral” highlights just how locked in the rhythm section is—Harrison’s drumming remains precise and purposeful throughout.

The middle stretch shifts the energy without losing focus. “Fortunes Engraved in Blood” and “Vapors” lean harder into the band’s death-thrash roots, more direct and less concerned with dynamics, built around forward motion rather than contrast. “The Thorns” slows things down into something closer to doom, and it works because it feels integrated rather than experimental. It doesn’t break the album’s flow—it deepens it.

“Blood Works” restores the pace before “The Dark Aura” takes a heavier, more suffocating turn, grinding forward with a density that stands out without feeling disconnected. Closer “Veil of Disillusion” finishes with some of the most intricate guitar work on the record, balancing technicality and aggression in a way that feels earned rather than overstated.

Production, split between Audiohammer and Morrisound, lands in a practical middle ground. It carries enough weight to feel modern without falling into over-processing. The bass remains present, the guitars retain their edge, and the overall mix avoids the overly compressed feel that flattens a lot of contemporary death metal.

Screams From Beneath the Surface isn’t built to chase attention, and it doesn’t need to. It’s a focused, well-constructed record from a band that understands its strengths and sticks to them. It may not dominate year-end lists, but for listeners who still care about this style done right, Monstrosity deliver exactly what’s required—nothing more, nothing less.