Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Mechina - Cenotaph (2023)
As much as I love Mechina more than the average metalhead now, sometimes the enjoyment has its limits. A few of their earliest albums (besides the debut); Conqueror, Empyrean, and Xenon are all good but have some fault in the development of their symphonic cyber metal sound fully established in Acheron and Progenitor. When Mel Rose started taking over on most of the vocals, the quality started dropping back to that of their earlier 2010s material. However, loss of quality doesn't mean total defeat. As of this review, their new album Bellum Interruptum will be released next month, and we'll see if new and longtime Mechina fans will be happy again after this album Cenotaph...
When I make these listening/reviewing sessions, I let these tales of space warfare enter my mind as the music shoots through my ears while I type away on my computer. The symphonic cyber metal still sounds fresh the way they did it in 2023 like they've done in 2013. I have mentioned Mel Rose doing most of the vocals in the band's 2020s albums so far, but in Cenotaph, pretty much all the vocals are sung by her along with David Holch's clean singing in the background, melding both voices together once again. The most divisive point among the fanbase is, none of Holch's growls appear at all. Not even any growls from Anna Hel who guest appeared in the previous two albums. So pretty much every song is just heavy yet melodic clean-sung tunes that was only seldom used in Progenitor and As Embers Turn to Dust.
"Petrichor" isn't really a useful intro, though it works story-wise. The first actual song "For All to See" blasts off in aggression mixed with melody, filled with programmed drums of steel. And we have some great power in the title track highlight.
"Starlifter" is OK, but the softer ambient parts might've been taken from Cave In's softer works and Rosetta then sped up. "The Grand Hunt" is a slightly better piece of epic cyber metal. If this banger was ever performed live (they haven't since their earlier years), expect a slamming battle in the crowd. The glorious vocals and kick-A rhythms hit the spot, despite those bombastic symphonics again. The wrathful "Spasms of Human Tragedy" throws back to the heavier instrumentation from their mid-2010s material.
The instrumental "Broken Matter Manipulation" is full of straight-on riffing fury by Tiberi. Not many people like this track from what I've heard, but I do. Nothing but pure grand djenty industrial metal! I suppose it could've been better if they added some vocals throughout, specifically Holch's growls, but just as it is, it rules. "The Haruspex Sunrise" is where I start to lose interest in the album towards the end, not having much memorable variety when the vocals are all clean. The worst of it all is "Andara's Will" that shows the band experimenting with major-key brightness. That just makes the robotic vocals more annoying, and this sh*tter fits better in a Cynic/Devin Townsend album.
If their new album Bellum Interruptum has more of their earlier heaviness and brings back the growls on a regular basis, maybe even promote Anna Hel to a full-time member and add in a couple more well-known guests, all that can make it more enjoyable for fans and might just finally propel the band into the success of its more popular peers. But if it ends up being clean-vocal dominated like Cenotaph, I don't know what to say. Still I just hope what they have next will change everything....
Favorites: "For All to See", "Cenotaph", "The Grand Hunt", "Broken Matter Manipulation"