Customer Reviews

Mechanical Spin Phenomena

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

(4 and 1/2 stars) WOW. Did Mnemic come out of nowhere or what? If Fear Factory and Chaosphere-era Meshuggah formed a supergroup and hired Rob Zombie to add an element of 'catchyness' to the mix, the result would be MNEMIC.

The comparisons to FF and Meshuggah will pretty much be unending, because quite frankly this band almost shamelessly pays musical tribute to those bands, yet at the same time very much adds their own style to make a legitimatley "Mnemic" record. A perfect fusion of insane mathmatical double bass beat patterns and lots of cutting riffery and time changes is the name of the game, and Mnemic deliver something very much worthy of the metal listener. No, its not 100% original, but at the same time they've done something very creative, interesting, and just frankly catchy as heck. If you're a fan of Strapping Young Lad, Meshuggah, Fear Factory, or just about anything in metal, you owe it to yourself to give this record a listen. This is also a brilliantly produced record, sounding very crisp, heavy, and clear.

I was floored from the first instant I heard the lead track, "Liquid", and my love only grew from there. At first listen many of the tracks will have the inevitable 'sameness' feel to each of the songs which is almost always the case when a band first unleashes its own 'sound' to the world. After repeat listens, the songs will definitly differentiate themselves nicely.

This isn't a perfect record, but a BRILLIANT start, and I'm very happy that a band is finally faithfully exploring the territory that a band like Meshuggah pioneered, and is adding their own unique flavors to the mix. I eagerly await their future releases - these guys have a real chance to be huge here in the US.

Favorites: Liquid, DB'Xx'D, Mechanical Spin Phenomenon.

Being from Denmark it's nice to behold a newcoming Danish band like Mnemic stepping onto the metal scene with an interesting sound and some evident potential.

Like severel before me have pointed out Mnemic is strongly influenced by bands like Meshuggah and Fear Factory. While they do not aim at dublicating the uncompromising complexity of Meshuggah and the techno- industrial sound of FF, they do manage to combine some of the strongest assets of these bands into a sound which may at first seem uniform, but gradually the album unfolds into a really interesting futuristic sonic universe.

In the end the album comes forward as a quite powerful and higly paced contribution to the 'hardcore' values of metal, and I personally welcome new influences to a scandinavian metal scene strongly influenced by 'classical' bands such as Opeth (though brilliant) and Dimmu Borgir.

To me Mnemic combines the best elements of futuristic US hardcore metal with the virtues of progressive Sweedish bands such as Soilwork and Meshuggah, and though the result may 'merely' be considered a hybrid* between these, I certainly welcome Mnemic and Mechanical Spin Phenomena as an interesting and progressive contribution to the international metal scene. This album cartainly has its flaws as well, but it nevertheless deserves 4½ stars for taking up the challenge of reinterpreting the present world of metal without selling out and becoming 'nu-metal'.

The world is opening itself and we ought to share it past old- day convictions such as "you've sold out!" Hence, keep music interesting; challenge yourself, avoid too many clichés and embrace true creativity whether it's downright brutal or not!

*(I guess few fans of 'real' metal cares too much for the connotations of that word since Linkin Park abused it to make the all too obvious and indifferent point about their mellow muscial approach to 'genres'... the world obviously needs to transcend this crap though, as true Metal music ought to grow on you through several listens rather than endorsing shallowness)

This album is freakin brutal. Not brutal in the grindcore sense, but brutal as in it punishes the listener all the way through. As most reviewers have said, this band fuses the technical " math metal " of Meshuggah with clean vocals/Devin Townsend sounding harsh screaming vocals. The result is a kind of industrial style album that shreds. The dual-assalt riffing on this cd is amazing, it will have you headbanging in no time. The off timed guitars create some of the most addicting grooves I've ever heard. While there are no blazing guitar solos or any impressive melodies here ( or at least very few ), the guitar players don't fail to show that they have plenty of talent. The drums are pretty sick too. Theres no short of double bass kicks and the drummer creates some nice polyrhythms as well. The bass can't be heard too well so its hard to tell if theres anything interesting going on, but it gives the music a good low end. The electronics and keyboards going on in the background make a somewhat industrial feel I mentioned before, although they aren't prominent enough to make them all out industrial. However they do create a wonderful atmosphere. The singer has decent range, going from mid to high pitched screams to a low end growl to clean vocals, although the latter are just used in a few choruses. The album is pretty long, clocking out at 54:20. There are only 9 songs, but most range from 4 1/2 to over 7 minutes and keep you entertained all the way through. This is a refreshing cd from a young band that will hopefully be around for a while. Since this cd isn't exactly directed into one subgenre, I would suggest it to all fans of metal.

Man, Nuclear Blast meeds to promote these guys- I accidently
heard one of their tunes and was really impressed enough to buy the CD-
Like the other reviewer said, there's some SYL in here, some
Meshuggah, Fear Factory and Raunchy too. I like these guys alot
better than Raunchy, though- better melodies and more GROOVE!!
If you like hooks mixed in with groove with the added bonus of
Meshuggah/Lamb of God stacatto style riffing, you'll like this-
I've read elsewhere where they're nu-metal- bulls**t!! Buy it!!!

Fusion Future Metal is what this band has dubbed their sound. Mnemic mixes the complex rythyms of Math Metal, combined with the aggressiveness of ThraSH, AND THE FUTUREISTIC MACHINE LIKE SOUNDS OF Industrial metal. This is a truly unique band and this album is sure to please anyone who enjoys the more progressive side of metal. Fans of this should also check out Meshuggah and Strapping Young Lad.

If Meshuggah and SYL had a baby this would be it. These guys tear it up The song DB'XX'D is a perfect example, it's complex,tight and intense. The singer sounds exactly like devin townsend from SYL he can scream, growl and do clean vocals. I like these guys better than meshuggah because you can jam to the music they don't lose you in there timing. Heavy stuff, one of the best releases of 2003. Similiar band's to check out SYL, Raunchy(don't be put off by the name) December, Meshuggah, Lamb of God. Keep metal alive raise those devil horns in the air!

Okay, I know on first listen these guys may sound like just another nu-metal band or Meshuggah ripoff. If you look a little deeper, though, you'll see there's more to this album than that.

A large majority of the music I listened to when I was younger was nu-metal, so I feel pretty confident in my ability to say (justifiably) that this is FAR too rhythmically technical to be nu-metal. You want nu-metal? Go listen to Coal Chamber or early Slipknot. While this album isn't as complex as, say, a Meshuggah album (*ahem!* Chaosphere....), the drum work is fairly technical, especially some of the less-obvious cymbal bits. The double bass is killer too, especially on songs like "Liquid".

Now, to address the issue of Mnemic being a Fear Factory/Meshuggah ripoff... I'm not denying the obvious influences in Mnemic's music. However, take the clean vocals for example. There are clean vocals in Fear Factory songs ("Resurrection" is a good example), but they're not NEARLY as richly layered or powerful as the cleans on this album. The choruses in the title track (#8) are absolutely HUGE. True, the lyrics can be kinda funny sometimes, but we're not here to listen to some Danish guy preach about oppression or famine or crap like that. If you want meaningful lyrics, go listen to sxe hardcore (or some hardcore Celine Dion).

Overall, this album is a very respectable disc, especially for being this band's first record. It gets four stars; it's not perfect, but it gets the job done, and does it damn good, too.

this is one amazing debut,MNEMIC is new up and coming band from denmark,they're my favorite without a doubt this cd in particular is my favorite,i interviewed the band recently great bunch of guys and put on one hell of a live show,if you're into swedish metal with a dash of thrash and a hint of fear factory you'll definately enjoy this band also check out their second release THE AUDIO INJECTED SOUL.

Several other reviewers compare Mnemic to Fear Factory and Meshuggah. While I'm a big fan of those bands (and this one), I disagree with these comparisons. Mnemic is not nearly as syncopated as Meshuggah, nor as dark and austere. Mnemic is also not as rhythmic and techno-influenced as Fear Factory. Mnemic reminds me more of newer Soilwork, with occasional hints of Spineshank thrown in.

Comparisons aside, I really like this album. Mnemic is a solid and interesting cyber-thrash band. The guitars and drums are pretty rhythmic, but there are some nice melodic breaks and riffing thrown in the mix. There are also industrial and electronic sounds making up the backdrop, though these don't dominate enough for me to call this an industrial band. The only thing I don't particularly like about this album is the vocals. I'm not sure why, but the vocals just seem kind of flat and uninteresting to me.

If you are into modern pseudo-electronic thrash metal, you'll like this album. Fans of Meshuggah and Fear Factory will probably dig this band, although I don't think those comparisons are too accurate.

As a huge fan of The Kovenant & Fear Factory for their futuristic styles I was instantly interested in Mnemic once the word was out. I bought Mechanical Spin Phenomena with the hopes of a new experience, Futurustic Death Metal! I got exactly what I wanted. They will pummel you with riffs and beats then drown you with synth and keyboard work. Just when you think the song has reached its peek.. BOOM another wave of well elaborated Bass,Guitar and drums strike you. The vocals force you to sing along on meaningful melodic chourous' and scream out "doublecrossed" at the top of your lungs. Mnemic have opened my eyes to the future of futuristic metal, It will live on for some time to come.

-Track Rating-

1.Liquid *****
2.Blood Stained ******
3.Ghost *****
4.DB'XX'D ******
5.Tatoos *****
6.The Naked and the Dead ****
7.Closed Eyes ****
8.Mechanical Spin Phenomenon ******
9.Zero Gravity ****
10. Blood Stained Remix *****

* Being Lowest
****** Being Highest

All around it really depends on your taste in music, No these guys have nothing in common with Meshuggah. I am a Meshuggah fan myself and say this. If anyone this band has more similarities to Fear Factory,Raunchy & The Kovenant then Meshuggah!! On a whole this album is a work of art that I am truely glad to have. On another note Mnemic is amazing live, If you get the chance GO!!