Monument (Miss May I album)

Monument
Studio album by Miss May I
Released	August 17, 2010 [1] June 21, 2011 (Deluxe edition)
Recorded	May – June 2010 @ The Foundation Recording Studios, Connersville, Indiana
Genre	Metalcore
Length	35:17
Label	Rise
Producer	Joey Sturgis, Landon Tewers
Miss May I chronology
Apologies Are for the Weak (2009) Monument (2010) At Heart (2012)
Deluxe CD cover
Singles from Monument
"Our Kings" Released: August 6, 2010 "Relentless Chaos" Released: September 2, 2010 "Masses of a Dying Breed" Released: June 30, 2011

Monument is the second studio album from the metalcore band Miss May I. This album debuted at #76 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Release

On June 24, Miss May I announced via Facebook that the new album "Monument" will be released August 17 and that they are recording a video at Mansfield Prison for the song "Relentless Chaos."^[2][3][4] On July 14th, guitarist Justin Aufdenkampe posted a picture on his Twitter account of the album's tracklist and song lengths. On August 5th, it was announced that the song "Rust" would only be available through preorder on iTunes via the band's Facebook. On September 3rd, the video for "Relentless Chaos" was released via YouTube.

On May 21, 2011, it was announced that Miss May I would be re-releasing Monument in a Deluxe Edition on June 21, 2011, featuring three new songs, the "Rust" b-side, and a DVD featuring music videos, interviews, live songs, and more.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Our Kings"	3:12
2.	"Masses of a Dying Breed"	4:00
3.	"Answers"	2:51
4.	"Relentless Chaos"	3:25
5.	"Creations"	2:47
6.	"Gears"	4:02
7.	"Colossal"	3:40
8.	"We Have Fallen"	4:22
9.	"In Recognition"	3:17
10.	"Monument"	3:41
Total length:		35:17

iTunes bonus track
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Rust" (featuring Brandan Schieppati of Bleeding Through)	3:42

Deluxe Edition (re-issue)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"My Hardship"	3:29
2.	"Descending Discovery"	3:49
3.	"Forbidden"	3:13
4.	"Our Kings"	3:12
5.	"Masses of a Dying Breed"	4:00
6.	"Answers"	2:51
7.	"Relentless Chaos"	3:25
8.	"Creations"	2:47
9.	"Gears"	4:02
10.	"Colossal"	3:40
11.	"We Have Fallen"	4:22
12.	"In Recognition"	3:17
13.	"Monument"	3:41
14.	"Rust" (featuring Brandan Schieppati of Bleeding Through)	3:42

Personnel

Miss May I

• Levi Benton - lead vocals, programming
• B.J. Stead - lead guitar
• Ryan Neff - bass, clean vocals
• Justin Aufdemkampe - rhythm guitar
• Jerod Boyd - drums, percussion

Guest musicians

• Brandan Schieppati - vocals on "Rust"

Production

• Production, engineering, mixing and mastering by Joey Sturgis
• Management by Chris Rubey & Eric Rushing (The Artery Foundation)
• Booking by Dave Shapiro (The Agency Group)
• Artwork by Yang Xueguo
• Layout by Sons of Nero

Deluxe Edition Production

• Production, engineering on tracks "My Hardship", "Descending Discovery" and "Forbidden" by Landon Tewers & Miss May I & Joey Sturgis (tracks: 4-14)
• Mixing & mastering by Joey Sturgis
• Artwork by God Machine

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[5]
Allmusic	[6]
"AltPress"	[7]

Metal Hammer reviewed the album in the February 2011 issue. It received a low score of 5/10 and was criticised for sounding unoriginal and much too like the band As I Lay Dying. Writer Adam Rees wrote "Miss May I struggle to deliver anything new...their best moments sound suspiciously like recent As I Lay Dying output on an off day...."

In contrast "Monument" was well received by Rock Sound who awarded it 8/10 "Since metalcore started merchandising a band’s image and paint-splattered jock-straps, before a fairly blueprinted sound structure, it’s been a difficult path to tread to find which bands are worth sticking around to listen to, but with their second outing ‘Monument’, Miss May I have firmly marked their place for Killswitch Engage’s support slots. The thunderous attacks of ‘Relentless Chaos’ and ‘Creations’ show the band’s steps towards thrash tendencies to a well worked effect. With exhilarating time signatures and ruthless musicianship, Miss May I have shown what it was that made metalcore exciting in the first place, and why we can love it once again."

References

1. "indiestar.tv Graf Wall: Exclusive: Miss May I "Monument" album artwork". Grafwall.indiestar.tv. 2010-06-26. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
2. "Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
3. "Affliction Sits Down with Miss May I | Affliction Official Blog". Blog.afflictionclothing.com. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
4. "Miss May I, ‘Relentless Chaos’ — Video Premiere". Noisecreep.com. 2010-09-02. Retrieved 2015-07-15.
5. Bowar, Chad. "Miss May I - 'Monument'". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
6. "Miss May I Monument User Ratings". AllMusic. July 12, 2015.
7. "Miss May I - Monument - Alternative Press". Altpress.com. 2010-08-17. Retrieved 2015-07-15.