Nu-En-Jin

Mortal (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 5, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tooth & Nail Records
• ASIN: B00006JSCA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,444 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Nu-En-Jin

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars M0rta1's Nu Dymenshan, October 9, 2002

By 

Tom Braun (North Florida, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nu-En-Jin (Audio CD)

If you know Mortal, you're probably expecting something different from their comeback album, and you'd be right. This time around the band is reincarnated as a noise-intensive post-nuclear industrial dance act. "Nu-En-Jin" is all digital drums, ambient FX and heavily distorted, screaming vocals with the kind of futuristic cyberpunk lyrics you'd expect form such an album. Its grating, its catchy ... The songs come in three flavors - the aforementioned computer-apocalypse dance mixes, affairs that eschew all melody in favor of pure destructive energy, much quieter, ambient tunes which actually contain some muted, melodic(hypnotic) singing, and a couple of remixes off Lusis which work quite well in their new setting. Jyro and Jerome continue to prove interesting throughout their diverse artistic incarnations, and this album is no exception. The songs are interesting, if not to everybody's taste, but "Nu-En-Jin" really shines lyrically. The lyrics are stories set in the near-future or some alternate history, often ripped straight out of a video game or a Gibson novel, but they manage to overcome their inherent cliches to explore some deeper truths about people. They also bring me to my major complaint about the album - the artwork overlaying the lyrics makes for an incredibly frustrating read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not what you'd expect, but amazing, December 4, 2002

By 

Joe Ryan Prater (Leagu City, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nu-En-Jin (Audio CD)

For all of you Jyro Khan fans, you're in for a treat. But be warned, this is different than anything that Mortal has ever done. Since Mortals fall off the scene, Jyro Khan has ventured into his bands of Fold Zandur and Juggernautz (an incredible group I might add). But now he is back with vengance. I was a little taken back by Jyro's "screaming" of the lyrics, but the beat and mixing of music is outstanding. He takes his music to a new level. You'll love it.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mortal's first true industrial album, November 2, 2002

By 

Pumpkinhead (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nu-En-Jin (Audio CD)

It's no doubt most long time Mortal fans will be scratching their heads after listening to this record. Nu-En-Jin is not as accessible as previous offerings from this groundbreaking band. The band actually thanks "the handful of you for getting it, and the masses who won't" in the CD sleeve. However, I don't think all Mortal fans will feel completely alienated by the progression that the band has taken; not this reviewer anyways. Given that this project was a) highly anticipated and b) released on prominent christian-oriented indie rock label Tooth and Nail, it could have been easy for Jyro and Jerome to make that trendy industrial rock record sure to at least propell them into the upper ranks of the christian rock charts. They didn't.

The main thing different about Nu-En-Jin from previous Mortal albums is the obvious lack of pop sensibility. With the exception of the tranquil "muj0," most of the vocals on these tracks are narrated or screamed, never sung, and always distorted - recalling vintage Skinny Puppy. Despite the fact that Mortal has always been considered an industrial dance/rock act, Nu-En-Jin is actually Mortal's first true industrial album. Although there is some sampling of guitars, metal heads will surely be dissappointed by the lack of guitar work. However, the intensity and heaviness of tracks such as "Mr ArOchet" and "FMZ4" cannot be denied. Furthermore, we are treated to remixes of "Mytho-X" and "Enfleshed (The Word is Alive)," which previously appeared on the band's 1992 debut, Lusis. While I don't necessarily consider the new versions to be big improvements over the originals, the band does manage to bring a different vibe to the songs. If anything, the newer versions have less of an archaic feel given the originals are 10 years old as of now. Oh, and I should mention that "mytho ex (Green Edit)" features Switchfoot vocalist, Jonathan Foreman, on lead vocals.

Whether Nu-En-Jin was a "one off" come back deal for Mortal, no one seems to know. Hopefully, the guys will stick around for a while. One thing that is guaranteed, if history is any indication, their next album will sound nothing like anything they have done before. But, I think it's safe to assume that Nu-En-Jin is destined to slip through the commercial cracks.