It feels so freeing to experience an artist who does not feel like they needs to make excuses to take up space, and WizardXs Monster Mind is a rallying cry to all of those who have ever been told they are too much. It is not merely another genre-bending exercise, it is a highly choreographed sonic revolution that turns individual mayhem into group therapy.
The thing that first hits you about Monster Mind is its restrained violence. WizardX uses rap metal, alt-metal, and metalcore in a very skillful way, combining it into something seemingly chaotic and very elaborate. The grubby guitars deliver crushing riffs that elicit the real chest vibration and the pounding drums that give the all-out heartbeat of a person who has finally ceased running away to his own intensity.
Vocal performance is where WizardX really excels and switches smoothly between machine-gun rap delivery and crushing metalcore breakdowns. His flow is incredibly tight, and precise, and it rides off the strong rhythmic base with the swagger of a rapper that has finally found his true voice. And there is a visceral vulnerability behind the tough exterior-he uses his pain as a conduit to scream with strength but also allows the listener to express their pent up feelings as well.
The reason that makes the song more than just an aggressive stream of sound is the underlying message of acceptance of oneself. This is music of the misfits, the over thinkers, the people who feel too much in a world that requires emotional restraint. WizardX makes art that talks directly to the people who have been told to make themselves smaller so that other people can be comfortable, but instead gives them a pass to be at full volume.
In a world that is becoming progressively sterile musically, Monster Mind sounds not only dangerous, but real. It is the anthem of every person who has bottled-up anger and frustration and is a reminder that in some cases doing nothing extraordinary is the most radical thing you can do, and that sometimes the most radical act is refusing to tone yourself down so that other people may sleep at night.