Reviews list for Mechina - Telesterion (2019)
Two years and 10 months was the longest Mechina had gone without releasing an album (not including their 2005 debut The Assembly of Tyrants or its semi re-recording EP Tyrannical Resurrection). Part of the reason for the gap is their 6-album remastering boxset Compendium. After completing this album in 2019, they thought "Why wait until New Year's Day to release this album when all of our fans are anticipating it?" So on November 1 that year, album #8 has touched down, Telesterion!
Once again we have another excellent album by these epic cyber metal masters. Telesterion has an almost similar aspect to DragonForce; 8 tracks with an average 7 and a half minutes in length, totaling up to an hour. Only the experienced can appreciate the lengthiness and find nothing bad in these songs at all. Or at least the actual songs...
The first track is an FX intro, "The Etimasia", and it goes on for... 6 MINUTES?!?!?! D*mn, that's long! Solid, though would've been much better if it was reduced to a fraction of its length, which would've made this album perfect. "Realm Breaker" is the first real song. The guitars actually sound less heavy and more melodic, which isn't bad at all but could use more oomph. Coming in at higher punches is "The Allodynia Lance" which is more symphonic, yet the heavy riffing and growls hit hard.
"Tyrannos" is the second track I've heard from this band, 7 months after "The Horizon Effect", and the first I've heard with David Holch's growls as the main vocal point. That epic-sounding piece of cinematic classical cyber metal has helped seal the deal with my interest in this sound. The lyrics are delivered well too, "CHILDREN OF EMPYREAN, DESCENDANTS OF ACHERON". Next track "Gene Heresy" is a grand over 10-minute epic that should touch the hearts of earlier fans anyone who loves long tracks. It might just surpass "Anagenesis" as one of the greatest epics Mechina has ever done!
We also have some rare soloing in the title track, nicely done by Dean Arnold, who has also performed in "Planetfall". I seem to think this album is Progenitor 2.0, but bear with me, it's still different, as proven in these final two tracks... "The Archivarius Chaos Ritual" is another one of the best tracks in this new era, with grand symphonics in the instrumentation. For the final track "Homeworld Salient", imagine a blend of Scale the Summit, Tyrant of Death, and Epica.
The Mechina saga continues in Telesterion, picking up where their previous album As Embers Turn to Dust left off. You can enjoy the music along with the lyrics that detail the story. It's so catchy, epic, and not too repetitive. It's worth hearing more of this band's unique underrated greatness!
Favorites: "The Allodynia Lance", "Tyrannos", "Gene Hersey", "The Archivarius Chaos Ritual"