Here we have the physical exclusive 18th studio LP from Detroit, Michigan’s demented duo & Astronomicon founders Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, both of whom originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as who they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 8 albums & 9 EPs on their own label, my favorites of which being /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/ & Glyph. Coming off Welcome to Your Funeral produced by Rob Zombie’s engineer Zeuss, they dropped Monsters on Devil’s Night.
After the intro, “No Evidence” finds them sinisterly talking about covering up the murders they committed whereas my favorite track “‘Til the Cops Come” instrumentally leans towards a funky boom bap vibe looking to party until law enforcement shuts it down. “Now I’m Homicidal” talks about murdering every last person who’s against them leading into “Don’t Sank” calling for everyone struggling to stay afloat instead of succumbing to their depression.
“Gotta Be Me” wraps up the 1st act discussing the importance of staying true to yourself of being like someone else while “I Just Wanna Kill” kicks off the 2nd half talking about once again never meeting anyone they didn’t want to take the lives of. “Devil Deja Vu” makes it clear they don’t give a fuck how far out from heaven they are & the final song “I Don’t Care Anymore” preceding the outro wraps up Monsters sending a message to those who has their hearts.
It’s wild to me that Twiztid destroyed all the unsold copies of Monsters when they could’ve easily put them up on the MNE Store when Fright Fest ended & give it a streaming release set for a later day instead of having it coincide with Songs of Samhain V: Outside of Heaven because this definitely makes up for the disappointment I had with both the latter becoming the weakest in the Songs of Samhain series & The Return of the Lotus whether it’s the production abandoning the rock influences or the wicked verses occasionally tackling themes of mental health & nonconformity along the way.
Score: 8/10