Reviews list for Mechina - Venator (2022)

Almost every year, a new chapter is added to an intergalactic sci-fi journey. Many things still have the same glory while some just break a bit of the quality apart. When a new year dawns, so does the next Mechina album...

With album #10 Venator, the band expands on what's been going on in Siege. The clean singing by Mel Rose and David Holch practically mix together as one, with harmonic melodies, plus a couple tracks in the end bringing back Holch's growls. Tiberi has prioritized his heavy guitarwork slightly more, pushing them forward in the mix over some of the orchestration. And instead of most tracks being over 8 minutes, the tracks here are mostly under that length, with only the first two tracks going over instead of under.

Opening the album with some blockbuster grandeur, "Suffer" begins the journey you end up drifting into. The other long opening epic "Praise Hydrus" has effective riffing worth praising, but despite its 8-minute length, it feels like it should've been a little longer with more added. "Sacrifice Zone" has more intense variation in its shorter length.

"Totemic" is a guitar-less synth ballad in an almost similar vein to "Ode to the Forgotten Few" with vocals alternating between Rose and guest Necole Wright over this atmospheric astral plane. Greater impact is added to the title track, flowing smoothly through heaviness and melody.

The intro riff of "Aphelion" is quite great, though the rest seems a little incomplete, considering its relatively short length of 4 minutes. "The Embers of Old Earth" begins the final two-track leg that has what you've all been yearning for, David Holch's growls and all-out crushing riffing. Closing track "When Virtue Meets Steel" is an aggressive way to head out than can pulverize those earlier melodic tracks, complete with blasts and more growls, most of them coming from guest vocalist Anna Hel. So brutally awesome!

Venator is a slight step down from Siege, but there's still a lot to love here. With djent-ish symphonic cyber metal that can be considered the birthchild of Fear Factory and Nightwish, Mechina fans can really get something out of this album. Though it's better enjoy it while they still can before their next album, the cleaner Cenotaph....

Favorites: "Suffer", "Venator", "The Embers of Old Earth", "When Virtue Meets Steel"