Monstrosity and the energy from the crowd

The US Death Metal legends MONSTROSITY are currently touring the EU presenting their brand-new album “Screams from Beneath the Surface” (check out the tourdates HERE). Shortly before hitting the road, band mastermind Lee Harrison found time to answer a few questions:

Tell us about the new album, “Screams from Beneath the Surface”, Lee. What was it like being back in the studio with Monstrosity again? 
Well, doing a new record is always a big undertaking. You hope you’ve got everything ready to go, that everything goes smoothly, and that you’ve prepared as much as you possibly can.

Any favorite current metal bands, Lee?
I’m pretty all over the place with my music taste. I still listen to a lot of the classic bands I grew up with, but there are also tons of great new bands out there. That said, I tend to focus mostly on whatever we’re currently working on.

Who is opening for Monstrosity on the EU tour? 
Bio-Cancer and Reject the Sickness. We toured with Reject the Sickness in 2023, so we’re already familiar with those guys. Also joining the tour is Deadwood. While I don’t know a ton about them yet, I’m sure they’ll deliver a killer set.

Do you prefer being on tour to being in the studio?
Both have their places, I think. I love the studio for the creativity, it lets me tap into my imagination and really explore ideas. Live shows are where you showcase everything you’ve created. There’s nothing like the energy from the crowd. I enjoy going back and forth with them, testing the material and seeing what resonates. Of course, they always want to hear the early stuff, but it’s cool to watch and see which of the new songs hit harder than others.

Do you still speak with George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher? 
George is a busy guy, so I don’t see him too often. I really can’t say I’ve talked to him much lately. The last time I spoke with him was in early 2025. He’s playing with his side band, Paths of Possession, on April 11th, so I’ll probably see him then and get a chance to catch up.

What were the early years like for Monstrosity? 
We’ve always had to work hard, but it’s incredibly satisfying when we finally finish an album and can sit back and just listen to it. There’s so much that goes into making an album, it’s a pretty daunting task. Of course, navigating the business side in those early days was tough too. Just like now, there were a million bands competing for attention, so we always had to push hard to get noticed. Things have changed a lot with the internet, YouTube, Spotify, and things like that. People can access our music much more easily now, which is great. In the old days, fans had to plunk down $12 or $15, or whatever the price was, to buy your album if they wanted to hear you. Or you’d rely on tape traders who would trade a few songs, depending on how deep they were into the scene. But it’s definitely easier these days for the average person to discover your music, thanks to YouTube and Spotify.

How did the band form?
Well, the original lineup was formed kind of out of the ashes of the demo era line up of Malevolent Creation. Three of the four members were from Malevolent. We brought George in from Baltimore, we got him a $72 bus ticket, and we had already booked a show before we even played the first note together. We had about five originals and one cover song that we played for our first show. Unfortunately, the show itself was a disaster, and we almost quit the business because it was so bad. We went into the woodshed, though, and really practiced hard for our second show, which was with Deicide and Malevolent. We really wanted to prove ourselves, and since we were opening for Malevolent, there was sort of a redemption factor going on. So, we hit the practice room hard. We also brought in Rob Barrett from Cannibal Corpse, who at the time was with Solstice… long before he joined Cannibal, and he played second guitar. We had a great second show, which led to us getting asked to play our third show the very next day, opening for Pantera on the Cowboys from Hell Tour in Orlando. That show was another success. So, after that first show disaster, we were able to turn things around. We made the demo in between those shows too, so we had something recorded to show people. We started sending the tape everywhere, trying to get noticed in fanzines and by record labels, and we sold it at our shows to fans in general.

What was the metal scene like back in 1990?
There was still a lot of competition, but probably a lot less than there is today. I can’t imagine trying to start a new band now. We were kind of at the forefront of that next level. Thrash had pretty much peaked by that point, and death metal was on the rise, so we were still right at the forefront of things.

What has kept the band going for so many years?
Basically, it’s just pure determination to keep things going. I’ve been dedicated to music since I was seven years old. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep the momentum and continue touring. It’s not an easy business, that’s for sure, but fortunately the response to the new record has been great. I’m really curious to see how that translates into the live shows, the audiences, and the kind of tour offers we receive. It’s always been a steady incline for us, but this album has gotten a lot of attention, so I’m hoping we can land some strong tour offers and really keep things moving forward.

Interview: John Wisniewski photos: Monstrosity

Bandwebsite
Labels: www.conquestmusic.com
www.metalblade.com
www.massive-music.pl