Mechina-Empyrean review

I had January 1, 2013 circled on my proverbial calender for the last four months of 2012.  Something significant was happening that day.  What was it?  The release of Mechina's new album "Empyrean", of course!

Now that I have finally had a chance to listen to and digest the album, I can offer my thoughts on it.  Thought #1: Holy moly!  Thought #2: Wow.  Thought #3: This is a great album.  All kidding aside, "Empyrean" is everything it has been hyped up to be and more.  Mechina is a criminally underrated band that doesn't get nearly the kind of publicity they deserve.  So I am here doing my part to get the word out about this fantastic album.

Mechina is a symphonic industrial metal band from Illinois.  By blending full orchestral music with loud industrial metal, they have created a unique sound.  The lead singer for Mechina has a strong melodic singing voice, but deep screams that are just as good.  The clean vocals sound a lot like Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory.  The band blends these two vocal styles just right on this album, which leads to an even fuller, more 'epic' listen. 

This band is easily more refined than Fear Factory through the use of keyboards and orchestras.  Instead of sounding mechanical or even institutional, they sound both genuine and spaced-out.  Every track on this disc leads into the next perfectly leading to no jarring surprises, though the soulful female vocals in the final track were a wonderful addition.

If you are a fan of Fear Factory, give this album a listen.  You will like it.  Sorry this review has been so brief, but when I find an album this great, I find that mere words do not give the album the justice it deserves.  This album should be an early contender for the top 13 albums of 2013. 

I have found only one track to share with you, unfortunately.  Below is the title track from "Empyrean".  They did release an orchestral version of this track, which we mentioned a few months ago, but that track did not appear on the album.  Perhaps soon there will be a deluxe pack or a b-side release that features that amazing adaptation.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Griseus-Aquilus reveiw

Rarely do I find music I find interesting enough to share at No Clean Singing.  I still like that website for the off chance that I will find some entertaining metal, but those moments are growing fewer and further between.  Those of you who know me (or if you haven't guessed yet) know that I'm not fond of 'generic' music at all.  By 'generic' I do not mean that it sounds just like someone else or even dozens of other acts.  What I mean by 'generic' is that it simply conforms too much to the standards of the genre which they choose to perform.  These guidelines get to be much too rigid for too many bands.  And while NCS does cover a wide range of metal, most of it of the extreme category, too much of it is dull and uninteresting in my opinion.

Griseus is a one-man Aussie alternative metal act by Howard "Waldorf" Rosenqvist.  The genre they most associate with is darkened neoclassical folk, whatever that is. 

When I first saw the album cover for "Aquilus", I shrugged, thinking that this was just another black metal band.  Still, I read the review.  And when I did, I was interested enough to listen.  Dabbling equally in post-romanticism, folksy acoustical moments, and atmospheric extreme metal, Griseus manages to convey many different emotions in several styles of music that mesh surprisingly well.

This disc is not your standard fare for symphonic metal.  Most pieces are long, orchestral works with wailing electric guitars and loudly shrieked vocals, which creates a dark and unusually harmonic sound.  This is an album you must hear to believe.  There is no operatic singing, and the metal aspect is less pronounced than you might expect.  This is both a disturbing and memorably beautiful listening experience.  If you do not like extreme vocals at all, there is a chance you won't like this.  However, the vocals are mostly highlights rather than constant roars and shredding howls. 

This record is very unlike anything I have heard.  This project is nothing like SepticFlesh or Mechina or Epica.  It is a beautiful work that stands on its own.  Even if you do not normally listen to music you have never heard before, this might be worth your while. 

For your listening pleasure, the entire album stream, courtesy of Griseus' bandcame page, is below.  Enjoy and let us know what you think.  As always, thanks for reading!

New tunes from Mechina and All That Remains

Good afternoon, everyone!  I have some new stuff to share with you today.  Yes, that means I found some, and in unusual places at that.  Thank YouTube, sort of.

The first couple of tracks are from Mechina, an industrial metal band from Chicago.  Mechina hasn't quite hit the big time yet, but they have existed for nine years per their Facebook page.  The style of music they play is reminiscent of Fear Factory, but with a few electronic elements, all contrasted against grand orchestral swells.  After I heard the band's previous album "Conqueror" I was hooked.  That album showed a lot of promise.  These new tracks showcase what the band is good at, indicating an excellent upcoming release.  These tracks are from the band's forthcoming album "Empyrean", which is due out on January 1.  The first of these tracks is very much indicative of the music Mechina plays.  The second is a longer, purely orchestral version of the same song.  It is incredible, so hopefully it makes the new album.



The next track I found out about through the usual channels, from The NewReview, which has been severely lacking in interesting music of late.

All that Remains is a band I have experience with.  I own copies of both "The Fall of Ideals" and "Overcome".  This new track captures the same style as both, not as heavy as "The Fall of Ideals" and not as mainstream-sounding as "Overcome".  As with most metalcore, the chorus is filled with catchy clean singing that is easy to understand and sing along with, while the verses employ mostly mid-range screams.  The harsh vocals I think sound relatively stale and generic on this track, but the cleans are dynamic.  It remains to be seen whether the forthcoming album can deliver the sort of music I crave enough to purchase it.  The new album, "A War You Cannot Win", will be released on November 6.  Check out the first single, You Can't Fill My Shadow below.  Enjoy!