JUSTIN’S METAL REVIEWS W/C 18/1/10

MNEMIC / SONS OF THE SYSTEM

This is a fantastic start to a New Year, the blurb for the album says it’s the bands strongest album since their debut and for one I have to agree with them, there is everything on this album that we have come to know and love about Denmark’s finest, Mnemic.

Musically we are talking Industrial Metal, this album is similar to Strapping Young Lad and (Digimortal era) Fear Factory, so you know what to expect when you press that play button, the intense ferocity of the D tuned guitars is perfectly counter balanced by the delicate Melodic harmonies created by the keyboards and all of this is underpinned by a deep throated, growling bass and digital precise drumming. The CD gets off to a flying start with the title track “Sons Of The System” which has all of the above and more, as does the strangely titled “Diesel Uterus”. If you’re looking for something a little more sedate check out the lengthy “March Of The Tripods” that starts off with a slow, deliberate paced riff before going into a tribal type refrain.

If you don’t know of Mnemic then this is a fine album to start with, also listen out for the following essential tracks; “Climbing To The Stars”, “ Fate”, “Elongated, Sporadic Outbursts”, “The Erasing” and last but by no means least “Within”. A well deserved first album of the week of the year, listen out for all of the above on my Pipeline and Hfm shows, an essential buy.

WEBSITE http://www.mnemic.com & http://www.nuclearblast.de

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 62 mins + 13 TRACKS

SIX FEET UNDER / GRAVEYARD CLASSICS III

Before I go any further I have to point out to those who don’t know, I really like SFU, so if you’re looking for a totally un biased review then stop reading now, I love what these guys do and they do it so well and Graveyard Classics 3 is no exception.

The guys have taken 10 Metal Classics, ripped out their entrails, thrown bits away, re assembled and totally brutalized the songs to turn them into Six Feet Under songs, you have the expected Classics from the likes of Metallica, “Frayed Ends Of Sanity”, Slayer, “ At Dawn The Sleep” and Mercyful Fate, “A Dangerous Meeting” and the unexpected choices from the likes of Backman Turner Overdrice, “Not Fragile”, Prong, “Snap Your Fingers” and Van Halen, “On Fire”. All of the tracks are to my mind work really well and the unexpected ones work even better, who would have thought that SFU would cover a Ramones song, let alone a Twisted Sister song.

This is one of the best covers albums I’ve heard in a long time and it works because the band have brutalized them into their own style and not just done a poor imitation of the originals, you can be sure I will be playing these to Death!

WEBSITE http://www.sfu420.com & http://www.metalblade.co.uk

TOTAL PLAYING TIME = 46 mins + 10 BRILLIANT COVERS