Australia’s Munt has been around for just under a decade now, originally forming in 2016 by guitarist Spud Robertson alongside several guests before expanding to a full lineup in 2018. Over that span of time the band has put out three EP’s and a split, with each one refining their blistering take on blackened grindcore and deathgrind. This year Munt has put together their first full-length The World Is Not Yours and it’s a heavy hitting and bleak take on grind that heads in a lot of different directions. While some of the elements are certainly reminiscent of other bands, the way everything is put together is effective and results in some standout moments.
Rather than launching right into the attack, intro “I - An Epoch of Turmoil and Strife” opens with a much softer soundscape that has ambient city noise and a pulsating beat. It’s soft enough that you might crank your speakers up, unsure if things have fully kicked in, which might have been a purposeful decision on the band’s part as once “The Lies That Bind” takes over the sound is immediately dense and heavy. What you’ll immediately notice about Munt is the level of polish and weight to their sound, as rather than falling into some of the rawer and more traditional grindcore their approach channels a lot more of that modern deathgrind sheen. Early on there were quite a few parts that gave off mid to later period Cattle Decapitation vibes, and when they slow things down slightly there are even some grooves that feel like a more grind centric Lamb of God. On the other end of the spectrum is blackened grind, where the colder guitar leads and shifts between faster and mid-range tempos create a bleak and nightmarish sound that’s appealing. There are two more interludes similar to the intro track to break things up, with both of these utilizing almost dark ambient like soundscapes to create tension between the battering grind. Munt is definitely pulling from some familiar ground, but the shifts between more death and black metal forward riffing and the varying tempos to make the songs distinguishable from each other and moments that stick with you. I’m partial to songs like “A Duel of Fractures”, “The Lords of Excess”, and “Noose Dragger” as these have the best balance between the controlled chaos and grittier atmosphere, but the material is consistent all the way through. There are a few of the shorter tracks that are a bit too similar and I’d be interested in hearing some of the interlude type moments woven into the songs rather than split out as separate moments, but these are minor criticisms for what is otherwise a strong effort.
Munt’s vocals are very dynamic, moving seamlessly from high shrieks to low guttural growls and even more hardcore sounding yells. On short tracks like “The Lies That Bind” that are less than two minutes in length you’ll hear all these different pitches, and later tracks bring in some spoken word and other harsh pitches that shake things up. Some of the distortion on the shrieks reinforced the Cattle Decapitation comparison, as they do get close to Travis Ryan at certain points, and that’s something that drew me into the band’s material further. There are a few guests once again contributing to Munt’s music, with Resin Tomb’s Matthew Budge being the highlight for me on “The Lords of Excess” as his range expands the already versatile vocal work. The high/low split isn’t unusual for this type of grind, but it’s pulled off so well here that the intensity level is through the roof.
A few of the shorter tracks do run together and I’d like to hear the ambient/soundscape elements further woven into the grind, but The World Is Not Yours does so much well that it’s an easy recommendation. There are blackened elements, more modern sounding deathgrind that channels Cattle Decapitation at certain points, and a little bit of everything else from across the extreme metal spectrum, all put together into a cohesive and killer package. With a full-length now under their belt, it’ll be interesting to see where Munt takes things down the road as they have laid a very strong foundation to build from.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg