Mnemic - Sons of the System

January 18, 2010

Reviewer: Peter

When it comes to the Danish modern metal band Mnemic, one can either claim to love or hate the band.  This rings especially true since the lineup changes that occurred between the 2004 release of The Audio Injected Soul and the 2007 release of Passenger.  Throughout their career so far, the band has gained a reputation as a “young man’s band.”  Their new album Sons of the System does nothing to dispel that notion; in fact, it only further enforces that idea, as the band clearly targets this demographic.  How old you are or how old you feel will determine if you like Sons of the System or not.

From the opening title track, it will become obvious as to whether or not the listener will like Sons of the System.  For me personally, this was a rather difficult album to review in the sense that trying to pick out something good was something of a chore.  Granted, they do stand out from the countless number of flavor-of-the-week bands that litter the metal scene, which isn’t saying much, but they haven’t really gained the recognition that they deserve.  Even though the band has played music that is actually catchy, the main problem that is that they haven’t really changed.  From their debut album Mechanical Spin Phenomena, the basic formula for the band’s sound has been pretty much the same, which may have worked to some degree in their early days.  However, there has to be some kind of evolution towards a better product, and that is where Mnemic fails to produce.  Other than the change in vocals in between The Audio Injected Soul and Passenger (there were in fact, two changes in vocalists between the two albums), there isn’t much else to speak of in terms of change.  Sure, the trademark futuristic metal sound is one of the band’s strong points, but without any real substance behind it, the staying power that the band possesses has shown a decline, which was evident on Passenger.  Much of that decline has to do with the fact that the material has become increasingly easy to get into, which seems to speak more about the less aggressive approach that vocalist Guillaume Bideau brings than anything else.  Not helping matters much is the paint-by-numbers approach that the band seems to be taking, where everything seems to be all mapped out and carried out, even if the results can be predicted from miles away.  If there is good news, it is that most of the music is actually listenable compared to some of the other bands of this ilk.   Of course, given that the ilk includes the likes of metalcore and any kind of core that seems to be the trend of the moment, it simply isn’t much of a compliment.

Overall, Mnemic does just about everything right in a musical sense.  However, they have been doing pretty much the same thing for their entire existence.  The future doesn’t hold much promise for the band if they keep treading the same path as they have been; in fact, it already seems to be taking a toll on listeners who want some kind of change.  Sons of the System is okay if you don’t mind consistency from album to album, but at some point, the system has to either add or subtract something to at least make things more interesting. 

TRACK LISTING

1.  Sons of the System
2.  Diesel Uterus
3.  Mnightmare
4.  The Erasing
5.  Climbing Towards Stars
6.  March of the Tripods
7.  Fate
8.  Hero In
9.  Elongated Sporadic Bursts
10.  Within
11.  Orbiting

Total playing time: 52:13

Release Date: January 8th, 2010
Label: Nuclear Blast Records

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