A DIFFERENT KIND OF 2011 LIST FROM MICHIEL DEKKER (THE MONOLITH DEATHCULT)

We’re big fans of The Monolith Deathcult, and we’ve written about them repeatedly over the last two years. Most recently, Andy Synn included them in a post called “The King Is Dead, Long Live the King”, contrasting “the electrifying, eclectic, and downright esoteric bludgeoning of” their album Trivmverate with the puzzling Ilud Divinum Insanus: “Unlike Morbid Angel’s most recent offering, this actually fuses a brilliant variety of techno-industrial elements and symphonic excess onto a chassis of pulverising death metal utterly seamlessly, making a whole that is far, far greater than the sum of its parts.”

Andy also wrote a SYNN REPORT about their discography, and last March I had the pleasure of interviewing the band’s guitarist/lyricist/backing vocalist Michiel Dekker (published here), who is also a high school history teacher. TMDC have been painstakingly writing and recording a new album called Tetragrammaton — almost two years have passed since the band’s last release, The White Crematorium 2.0 — and the interview provided a few insights into the typically fascinating lyrical subjects of the new album.

So far, the only lasting taste of the music from the new album is a track called “Aslimu!!! — All Slain Those Who Brought Down Our Highly Respected Symbols To The Lower Status Of The Barren Earth”, which was released last February, and can still be heard HERE. I’ve also had the privilege of listening to unfinished demo versions of a few more songs, which has only made me eager for more. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Tetragrammaton will be released in 2012 — it’s certainly one of my most anticipated albums for this new year.

All of this is by way of introduction to the real point of this post. As part of our year-end Listmania series, I asked Michiel Dekker if he would give us a list of the best albums he heard in 2011. Instead of that, I got something perhaps more interesting.

What I got was a list of albums that Michiel has listened to through the years that inspired him during the writing sessions of Tetragrammaton. I suppose you could interpret this list as a set of clues about the music on the new album. On the other hand, Michiel explained in that March interview that all the songs on the new album will have their own identity without an overall musical theme. So, speculation may not prove to be very productive. Of course, that won’t stop TMDC fans from doing it.

Here’s that list, along with Michiel’s comments about the albums:

“In particular order:

1. Cradle of Filth – Dusk . . . and Her Embrace: One of the soundtracks of my teenage years. Brilliant songwriting and killer arrangements. A perfect combination of melody, insanity and brutality.

2. Ministry – Psalm 69/Filth Pig/ Live @ Waldrock: Intense heavy and creepy industrial with massive machinegun riffing and a great use of samples.

3. White Zombie – Astro Creep 2000: The gods of heavy GROOVE!

4. Laibach – Discography: Brillant image, often misunderstood. Killer industrial with Wagnerian choirs and orchestras.

5. Strapping Young Lad – City and Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing: Well, this is the real essention of metal in my opinion. Completely over the top with a tongue in cheek image.

6. Type O Negative – Discography: Needs no further explanation.

7. Nile – Black Seeds of Vengeance, In Their Darkened Shrines: The first deathmetal band which did not bore me.

8. Fear Factory – Demanufacture: Pioneers!!”

And here are additional resources about TMDC:

http://www.facebook.com/monolithdeathcult

http://www.monolith-deathcult.com

http://www.myspace.com/themonolithdeathcult

http://twitter.com/T_M_D_C