Monument Hill, a Boston-based post-hardcore band, ripped through the Silhouette Lounge on March 25th. Self-described as “Manic, mental conglomerate for mentally ill individuals”, this chaotic group consists of Peter McLeod (guitar and vocals), Joe Magarolas (bass), James Gordon (drums), and B. William Brooks (vocals).
The back room of the Silhouette Lounge was jam-packed. The band pushed through the crowd to the front and began setting up for the show. Magarolas started the night off right with a loud, energetic greeting to the Boston crowd, followed by a statement that made the band’s message clear; defiantly and openly criticizing Trump and ICE activity in the city of Boston.
Magarolas immediately started their first song, “Fist Fight”, with a driving bass line. Brooks stood facing away from the crowd as his first line came out in a whisper that vibrated through the crowd. The song slowly built up until Brooks turned around and began deep, screaming vocals that dominated the rest of the song. While the band has a self-claimed “violent disregard for genre,” their driving, complicated bass lines, dramatic pauses, and high-intensity growls contrasted with clean vocals are what draws their crowd in.
Brooks, as the main lyricist for the band, brings the passion as he highlights the personal nature of their songs. However, for the first few tracks, unless you were standing in the front row, it was difficult to hear as the band faced minor technical difficulties. The people in the pit were ferociously two-stepping; Magarolas had jumped in, and sometime during the chaos, Brooks’ monitor got unplugged. He couldn’t hear himself, and neither could the audience. While Brooks worked to fix it, the crowd cheered, yelling for the sound tech to turn up his vocals. The audience craved more, and by demand, they got it.
The rest of their set powered forward without a hitch. Their song “4 Walls” featured a fast-paced, finger-picked guitar solo high up on the neck executed seamlessly by guitarist McLeod. On stage, Brooks and Magarolas were aggressively headbanging while McLeod shredded his solo. The crowd was then treated to their song “Shipwrecked,” one of their unreleased tracks. During this song Brooks struck a pose reminiscent of a villain maniacally laughing, which only added to the intensity of his vocals. As the crowd ramped up, anger and justice brought artist and fan together as their song “King Killer” encouraged the crowd to rebel against those that seek to oppress.
The show wraps up with their song “Bred for War”. The pit opened up one last time, and the crowd two-stepped in a circle, a moment of joy that contrasted the heavy content of the lyrics. As one of their most popular songs, it expresses resentment at the continuous cycle of war with no meaning or end in sight; that the masses are sent to fight while the people in power sit back and profit. A powerful performance to end on, the animosity and acrimony spread through the crowd like wildfire.
The show ended with a final scream, and Brooks signed off with a “K! Love you! Bye!” The anger and frustration that were readily apparent in their music was nowhere to be found in how they interacted with the crowd. As the world shifts into an increasingly authoritarian state, Monument Hill exemplifies what should be the central tenets of the hardcore genre: anti-establishment sentiment fueled by radical kindness that compels you to action.