“Malice” by Modern Monsters: Speaker Explosion

Author

Michael Bang of Tell Me Tell Me

STREAM MALICE

An EP called “Malice,” cover art of a purple pig with dollar signs for eyes and a police baton, an artist photo of five chefs covered in blood? This band knows how to set expectations. Welcome to Modern Monsters! They play heavy rock halfway between Warped Tour and Lollapalooza.

The first sound you hear is the ripping bass that opens “March 3rd, ’91.” Taking on an enraging subject, it’s no surprise to hear rage in the vocals of Josh Weaver. The rocking yet funky rhythm section carves out different spaces for Josh’s voice to shine. He speak-sings crowd inspiring incantations, he screams his anger to the sky, and he wails out sing-along choruses.

“Prism” rocks its way through desperation: “treading water ’til you drown can’t you find a way/treading water ’til you drown don’t let it slip away.” Thunderous anthem “Road to Nowhere” chronicles the misadventures of a narrator caught up with a femme fatale: “without warning she grabbed my gun/she’s the girl with the world in her hair/woke one morning and I was on the run/driving for miles on a road to nowhere.”

The next track opens with the noises of demon summoning and radio tuning before the marching drum announces the cover you didn’t see coming if you weren’t reading the song titles: “White Rabbit.” The filter of their sound yields a strong yet lithe take on the classic, still acid fried but staged in a futuristic dystopia rather than a wonderland. The final track is a staple of their live show called “Greed Machine.” This metal grunge riff factory takes on avarice with rage and rawk, a fitting end to their slinky, heavy but flexible EP.
5/5 👊👊👊👊👊 

See them live! Trixie Rasputin Presents Modern Monsters at Elbo Room in Oakland on May 18th with The Hot Takes and Tell Me Tell Me (which, full disclosure, is MY band!) TICKETS