Gomad! and Monster – “The Inner Encouraged Desire” – a truly well-crafted rave-and-rock album

Blending bone-crushing rock instrumentation with electronic music and its many sub-genres, has been on the rise lately. Many big-name artists have been teaming up together to create unique sonic hybrids, but few have done it on an ongoing long term basis, and as well as Spanish collective, Gomad! and Monster. The band, who label their specific sound ‘Rave and Roll’,  were the support act for the last The Prodigy Show, and created the Soundtrack for “Need for Speed”. They have played more than 500 Shows across Europe. In 2020 they are promoting their new album and playing a lot of shows in Spain and France. We recently took a listen to their 11 song album, “The Inner Encouraged Desire”, and were totally blown away.

This is the best therapy to an insane day at work. Try putting on this records and blasting it. A real healthy way to purge stress – it is heavy, intense, loud, and in your face with no apologies. Thrashing guitar riffs meet growling synths, with banging four to the floor beats and soaring vocals driving the mix into insanity levels.

These are not simply songs, they’re sonic missiles. The one thing that stands for these guys is their aggressive attitude and none more so than in the opening track “Fallback” ft Coppa, a hard hitting track right off the bat and exactly what you’d expect, fast, bellicose and mean synths underscore clear impactful urban-tinted vocal motifs.

Metal and Punk elements fall into place on “Set It Off” ft. Matt Rose, as the energy levels are totally elevated, along with the anthemic vocals and the rollercoaster RDM synths.  “Virus” leans more toward its metal influences with crunching guitar riffs and harsh vocals driving the stomping beat and snarled lyrics. It’s real ground and pound song.

As a rock lover, the apex of the album, for me, comes in the form of “Start” ft. Richy Nix. A rampant arrangement with a heavy twist and some seriously powerful vocals which gel nicely with all the melodic mayhem going on around them. This is arena-ready stuff for the masses.

You have to love these guys, every time you think they are done, they seem to come back with another track, stronger and better than the one before. Packed full of killer riffs, big drum and bass beats and angsty vocals, garnished with epic grinding synths, the album moves forward to the skittering “My Secret” ft. CMD/CTRL, and then settling on another standout – “Perkele” ft. Julia Marks.

The grinding echoes from the synths create tones that sound like exploding crystals formed on rocks over time; Marks is massive on the mic, as she keeps time with the machine-gun rhythm. Gomad! and Monster take another 180 degree turn on “Thirst” ft. Cloud 9+, as they switch gears. The melodic vocal is pimped up by the hardcore bass and plows of the synth. The change in tones will rattle your insides.

Gomad! and Monster isn’t afraid to move away from the forms of conventional popular music. On “Monster Samurai” ft. The Game Shop, they throw the kitchen sink into the mix, creating euphoric pandemonium.

They’re back to the hardcore drum and bass foundation on “Nobody Gets Out Alive” ft Matt Rose, Subshock & Evangelos. The vocals soar with high-flying crescendos that impact the speakers with devastating effect.

Universe A.D.” launches with a spoken word intro as it builds in intensity, exploding into blazing hard basslines, twisting synths and fiery guitar motifs. The album closes with “Tales From The Hood” ft. Coppa and Matt Rose, which bursts into pounding riffs while maintaining a sense of absolute urgency. On top, a genuine rock rap sincerity embellishes the behemoth-like ferocity at the song’s core.

Overall, “The Inner Encouraged Desire” is a truly well-crafted rave-and-rock album where everything seems to hit just right, approaching a blend of rock, metal and EDM that is as inventive as it is excellently incendiary.

OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – FACEBOOK – YOUTUBE LIVE – SPOTIFY – ALBUM – NEED FOR SPEED – TOUR VIDEO