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Mnemic - Passenger

Wednesday, March 7th, 2007

Way back in 1995, I visited my brother and heard this ungodly noise pouring from his stereo. Up until that moment I thought I was the metalhead of the family. Yet here was my little brother listening to stuff more full on than I was.

The music turned out to be Strapping Young Lad, Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing. For years this band was the cult-metal secret, beholden unto a precious few. It even said so on their CD slip. I was suddenly envious of them all.

Some years later, I ran across another gem in the rough, amazed by the old school tones and new school chop-and-change riffs. The singer was tearing his throat out and the musicians were cutting edges unknown. The band was Mnemic, and I at last had my own obscure metal band which NO ONE else had heard of.

Their second release took that original raw power and cultivated a soundscape, notedly influenced by their touring with Soilwork, Meshuggah and Devin Townsend himself. It was highly polished and yet just as gutsy and unafraid of criticism.

Then came what was possibly the most delightful moment of my metalhead years. About four months ago, Will gave me a leaked copy of the newest Mnemic release, Passenger. For the first time ever I held in my hand a copy of a metal album that hadn’t even been released in America yet, and wouldn’t be for several months. I indulged, and showed it off to all of my mates. Ok, I rubbed it in.

Anyway, to illustrate this album to you in words is the challenge I now face. The original singer Michael had departed on the tour after the second release. It was hard to imagine what Mnemic might do after losing such an integral and unique frontman. However, in stepped Guillaume, who already knew the previous material up and down, and proved a mighty throat-tearer of his own. Some of his most awesome moments are easily comparable to the great Phil Anselmo. Yet, he also has the ability to break into some gorgeous choral harmonies, even just using his voice to augment the soundscape. The band has never sounded this powerful and in command of itself.

The soundscape has evolved to a new dimension - this truly is the Next Level for Mnemic. They’ve learned their lessons well, blending superb riffage and brutal drumcraft supported by keys, guitarsynths and samples to create something that is melodious, full of variations and brimming with menace all at once. They’ve paid a certain homage to their predecessors, but do not cite them as ‘influences.’ You’ll hear tones of Devin, Fear Factory and Meshuggah here and there, but this is ultimately the voice of Mnemic in its full glory. This is one of the few CD’s I’ve been excited about for years, and it didn’t leave my player for an entire four months.

Passenger was released in the US on February 6th, and is available as a special import at JB HiFi. You can also keep up with their adventures here.

Please note individual items are the those of the autor, not Pith Records. Don't blame us.
This entry hereby entered into our archives by lansirlot at the hour of 1:45 pm on this very Wednesday, March 7th, our year of 2007. Duly filed under Album Reviews, in accordance with standard practices. Interested parties may follow responses through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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