The band was founded in Milan, Italy in mid 1987 by guitarist Roberto Mammarella and bassist Anthony Duman, who recruited vocalist Mark Westfall and drummer Mox Cristadoro. Between December 1988 and April 1989, the band recorded and mixed the five song demo Musaeum Hermeticum, which was released as a limited edition cassette of 180 copies. Two tracks, "Nostalgia of the Infinite" and a cover of The Dead Relatives' "Nephtali", were selected by Obscure Plasma Records for a split single with the Greek black metal band Rotting Christ in 1991.
Following a brief split, Monumentum were picked up by the predominantly black metal Norwegian label Deathlike Silence Productions. However, before the proposed album could be released, DSP owner Øystein Aarseth (Mayhem) was murdered, leaving the band label-less. The album, In Absentia Christi, recorded and mixed between August 1994 and May 1995, finally saw the light of day through the British label Misanthropy Records.
The recording line-up featured two vocalists, in the form of Andrea Zanetti (of Italian act Iconoclast) and Francesca Nicoli (of Ataraxia, alongside Mammarella ("strings, keys and vibas"), Cristadoro (drums) and Paolo Mauri ("samples, artistic production and wisdom"). The band claimed the album was influenced by the poets Iginio Ugo Tarchetti and Giacomo Leopardi, and included a cover of "Fade to Grey" by Visage.
Activity from the band became sparse until reuniting to record "The Colour of Compassion" for Misanthropy's anti-censorship compilation Presumed Guilty (1998); the line-up for this consisted of Mammarella, Cristadoro, Federico Simonetta (bass) and Daniele Bovo (keyboards). Further compilation appearances included the Death SS tribute album Beyond the Realm of Death SS, to which Monumentum contributed a cover of "Black & Violet". Line-up for this appearance consisted of Mammarella, Cristadoro, Bovo, Max Vaccaro (bass) and Jesuis Qui (vocals); the latter is Cornelius Brastad of Solefald.
Monumentum reunited in 2001 to record Ad Nauseam for Tatra Productions. The line-up had changed again; Ad Nauseam featured Mammarella, Andrea Bellucci on keyboards, Daniele Bovo on guitar and keyboards, Andrea Stefanelli (of Nuvula Neshua) and Alis Francesca Bos on vocals, Diego Danelli on bass and Elisa Carrera on drums, although the latter had to pull out mid-way through recording after getting pregnant.
In 2004 Monumentum briefly resumed activity to contribute to the Tribute To Dead Can Dance: The Lotus Eaters CD (covering "Windfall"). As of 2004, the band has disbanded permanently.
No Redemption
Monumentum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
USELESS MOMENTS
THAT WOULD FILL MY TIME
OF APPARENTLY INTENSE COLOUR
BREAKING GLASSES
HIDE the BOREDOM
OF AN AWFUL LIFE
NUMBERS, LETTERS AND CHANCES...
YOU ARE MISSING
YOUR NONSENSE HABITS
WHICH DRY OF MEANING
THE GENIOUS THEORIES.
YOU FINALLY REALIZE
HOW WELL-HIDDEN WAS
THIS LONG FLAT LINE
WITHOUT THE LEAST ENTHUSIASM
AND OVER THE SIMPLE MEMORY
OF THE NICE BEGINNINGS
THAT NEVER LET YOU THINK
ABOUT THE ABRUPT ENDS
The lyrics to "No Redemption" by Monumentum explores the feeling of boredom and meaninglessness in life. The singer expresses their inability to focus and how they spend their time on useless, unproductive moments that seem to be filled with intense color but lack substance. They break glasses to hide the boredom that comes with the repetitive nature of their life, which is filled with numbers, letters, and chances that seemingly lead nowhere.
The singer then addresses their audience (or perhaps a specific person) and talks about missing their nonsense habits, which dry the meaning out of the genius theories they may have had. The person finally realizes how their life is a long flat line, void of any enthusiasm or passion. They reflect on the nice beginnings of their life, but quickly remind themselves that those moments never led to anything meaningful and only shielded them from thinking about the abrupt ends that followed.
The overall message of the song seems to be that life can often feel meaningless, but it is up to us to fight against that feeling and find something that truly gives us depth and purpose.
Line by Line Meaning
I CANT FOCUS
I am unable to concentrate
USELESS MOMENTS
Moments that seem to have no value or purpose
THAT WOULD FILL MY TIME
That take up my time without providing any benefit
OF APPARENTLY INTENSE COLOUR
That are brightly colored but ultimately meaningless
BREAKING GLASSES
Smashing glass objects
HIDE the BOREDOM
Attempting to cover up the monotony of life
OF AN AWFUL LIFE
A life that is terrible or unpleasant
OF CONSTANTLY REPEATING
That involves doing the same thing over and over again
NUMBERS, LETTERS AND CHANCES...
Working with repetitive tasks involving numbers or letters
YOU ARE MISSING
You are longing for something that is no longer present
YOUR NONSENSE HABITS
Habits that are meaningless or pointless
WHICH DRY OF MEANING
That take the significance out of your brilliant ideas
THE GENIOUS THEORIES.
Your brilliant ideas that have now become meaningless
YOU FINALLY REALIZE
You have come to understand
HOW WELL-HIDDEN WAS
How expertly concealed was
THIS LONG FLAT LINE
The monotonous path of life
WITHOUT THE LEAST ENTHUSIASM
Without any passion or excitement
AND OVER THE SIMPLE MEMORY
Reflecting on a vague memory
OF THE NICE BEGINNINGS
Of the good times at the start of something
THAT NEVER LET YOU THINK
That never required you to contemplate or reflect deeply
ABOUT THE ABRUPT ENDS
About the sudden or unexpected conclusions
Contributed by Jake Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.