Mechina - The Assembly of Tyrants (2005)^{Release ID: 5340}

So, it appears that this is Mechina's debut album, released in 2005, a year after the band formed. I understand that they later went down a more symphonic path with their industrial sound, but here they have gone for straight-up classic Nineties-era Fear Factory worship. The riffs are decent with a meaty guitar tone FF fans will feel comfortably at home with, although I don't think Mechina's riffs have the same high memorability factor as the LA legends achieved on their best material. Where they do score well though is when they use synths to add an additional, thin layer to their sound, such as during "Afterimage" or on the title track. "War Fog", which connects the two tracks, is a short, synth-driven interlude which is also quite evocative and further illustrates the band's nascent atmosphere-building prowess. Vocalist David Holch also has a creditable crack at reproducing Burton C. Bell's growling bark as the main vocal, but where he comes unstuck is with the complementary clean vocals which, in all honesty, sound terrible, as if he can't carry a tune at all. They are so bad that I can't believe no one advised the band to re-record them or get a guest in to help out.

Ultimately, for me, this is an enjoyable enough slab of Fear Factory worship, irreparably tainted by very poor clean vocals, that I am unlikely to turn to in the future unless the FF back catalogue suddenly disappears from the face of the Earth.

So I've already checked out and reviewed a few albums by Mechina, a band known for its epic symphonic cyber metal sound and expanding conceptual saga throughout albums and singles. But the question is, what were they like before they started adding in those aspects?

The Assembly of Tyrants was recorded and released in 2005, over 5 years before their second album Conqueror in which they started making their sound more cinematic and forming a massive story in the lyrics. I actually love the debut slightly better than the next 4 albums. This simple raw style of cyber metal in a similar vein as Fear Factory and Sybreed is not as overproduced as their bombastic later material. Although the saga was yet to be established, I can hear the story quite well in these lyrics!

Some of the heaviest bits of Fear Factory can be heard in the opening track "Shattered Cry", as early as that band's deathly debut Soul of a New Machine. It's a real shame about drummer Scott Oloier leaving the band, because his pummeling drum-work hits so hard. Drifting through this cosmic vortex is the dark growls of David Holch that enhance the well-thought lyrics. "Reclamation of Mortal Nature" proves that this band can sound killer even at a time before adding a bombastic truckload of symphonics and female vocals to their subsequent releases. Awesome, but I prefer the Tyrannical Resurrection version. That EP is where half the amount of the songs in the debut were re-recorded two years after. Next up, "Clash of Cultures" takes the atmospheric sorrow further. Holch has tried an earlier attempt to give his vocals a clean singing effect.

Attacking in different tempos is the long "Machine God". Then we head into one of two instrumentals, the electronic "Apothica". The next two tracks are from the band's two earlier demos that are basically the Fear Factory Concrete of Mechina, starting with "Skin Deep". The riffing by Joe Tiberi can break things apart, alongside Holch's growls, "Draw thy weapon for pain, just for the kill". The other track "After Image" has Scott Oloier has his brother Jon (on bass) battling it out with the other guys' instrumental talents. The keyboards that are later proven to be performed by Tiberi fits smoothly with the aggressive instrumentation.

The second instrumental, "Assembly Intro" (also titled "Warfog") has some ambient serenity. The main part of the album ends with the 8-minute title epic. It's a true masterpiece highlight that greatly foreshadows what's to come later for this band. The bonus track "Clash YSAF mix" is an instrumental remix of "Clash of Cultures".

If there's anyone who, at the time of the debut's release, thought the band would go down the same path as Fear Factory and Sybreed, their second album Conqueror definitely says otherwise. Until then, The Assembly of Tyrants is essential cyber/industrial metal that anyone in The Sphere should get. Though if this dark futuristic sound had guitar solos and better production, it would've been 5-star perfection. Still it already displays Mechina's unique abilities. The best place to start before the bombastic rest!

Favorites: "Shattered Cry", "Reclamation of Mortal Nature", "Clash of Cultures", "Skin Deep", "The Assembly of Tyrants"