Cannibalised - Reviews

[Michel]

Metalfrance.net translation :
The sticker reads "Warning ! Extreme listening !". Earache seems very proud to present to us Biomechanical's new album.
"Cannibalised" will certainly be one of the landmarks of 2008, it being so innovating and captivating.
From the very first notes, the listener is thrown into a mysterious and singular macrocosm in which stormy solos, drum beatings and thrashy riffs are weaved against an epic orchestration background.
With an impressive technicity, this "Cannibalised" is an ode to vehemence and madness.
But what shines the most is the voice, and what a voice ! Along the likes of a Warrel Dane (Nevermore), John K explores an amazing vocal range ! Picture Devin Townsend, Phil Anselmo and Rob Halford singing on the same song !
Perfectly accessible, "Cannibalised" offers melodic passages and breaks that litterally let some breathing air in that disc. These few calm moments are very rare, for this record is completely insane, imprinted with unprecedented velocity.
The brits from Biomechanical own this particular virtuosity that allowed them to make an incomparable, stunning, and unexpected album.

 

[Michel]

MagicFire :

Biomechanical is back and they're bringing the pain. At last, the new album of the biggest kick in the ass ever heard by yours truly, apart from Into Eternity. This British band lead by the greek John K did have some hard times after the release of Empires of the world, since all the team jumped out of the train as it was getting so close to Glory Town. A catastrophe for a band that would have destroyed everything on its path any day. John K didn't back down and has, while composing this masterpiece, hired new musicians. After listening to the album, you'll rest assured these new musicians are perfectly able. These new recruits, Adrian Lambert (ex Dragonforce, Bass), Gus Drax (Guitars), Chris Van Hayden (Guitars) et Jonno Lodge (drums, 18 years old), shamelessly do as best, maybe even better than their predecessors.

Yes, Cannibalised hits even harder that The Empires of the World : that is the monster that these English have created. The only negative point would be the production that sound far less precise than on the previous album. It's not bad, far from it, but it's clear that it lacks a bit of depth. Furthermore, John K's voice seems a bit lost in the mix, and it's as pity as it is hard to believe, since it's been done by Chris Tsangadires (Judas Priest).

Like on The Empire of the World, Biomechanical opens the album with an armour plated tank. "Fallen in fear" is simply incredible. From a technical point of view, chances are that it knocks everyone out. The technique of the musicians is titanic, I am sincerely speechless. If you thought that on Empires of the world, there was a title technically above the others, know that all the titles on this album are technically superior to it. Bass, drums and guitars are played at 200 miles a second. It's a shame there's no indication of the BPMs anywhere, I'm sure it would crush anything humanly possible. Breaks and rhythm changes never cease. As far as the notes are concerned, it's rich, very rich, some will say too rich, for this is a record (yes, that means every song on the album) that you don't make your own in a few seconds. And there's the singing, that unique voice. John K is the only human being that can be compared to the Metal God, to Tim “Ripper” Owens, Devin Townsend, Geoff Tate, Mike Patton, Warell Dane and Wade Black. I know it sound incredible, but it's a fact proven by every song on the album.

The influence of Pantera, present on the last two opuses, is less perceptible, and here, you think about Meshuggah, Texture, Nevermore or even SYL. A nice fucking mess, I'll tell you. The thing with Biomechanical is that everything is calculated to surprise you constantly, to captivate you, every second unveils something you haven't foreseen. Everything is composed and played extremely precisely. That brings a certain Chuck Schuldiner to mind, who too brought metal in an untouched extreme and technical territory. To make things simple for you, imagine an extreme version of Dragonforce.

I won't start describing every song, it's far too complex and varied. You have to hear to it to believe it. It fucking blasts, the riffs are massive, Exodus could look like a kiddies' band compared to Biomechanical.

There's nothing left to say. If you understood The Empire of the World, Cannibalised is made for you. Everyone else, if you never heard such an amazing mix, I can only urge you to listen to it at least once, just so you don't sound like a stupid fuck when you say that Dragonforce is the fastest band in the world !

THE record of the beginning of the year.

 

[Existenz]

Thanks again Michel for the translation!

Rock Sound Magazine Feb Issue

There's also a one page Q & A feature in the Magazine

 

[Existenz]

9.5/10 :Smokin:

www.metal-discovery.com

 

[Existenz]

From Classic Rock Magazine

 

[lad]

Certainly it's awesome that they, Biomechanical, got a thoroughly positive review and 9/10 numerical rating in UK's Hammer, but I was browsing a mate's copy and couldnae help but be irked that theirs was less than half a page in size, while bloody Bullet for my Valentine get a sceptical review, a 5/10 and yet their review COVERS A PAGE AND A HALF, as though it's 'album of the month'. Silly.

 

[derek]

The people who buy it obviously want bullet for my valentine reviews, I suppose.

 

[Existenz]

Certainly it's awesome that they, Biomechanical, got a thoroughly positive review and 9/10 numerical rating in UK's Hammer, but I was browsing a mate's copy and couldnae help but be irked that theirs was less than half a page in size, while bloody Bullet for my Valentine get a sceptical review, a 5/10 and yet their review COVERS A PAGE AND A HALF, as though it's 'album of the month'. Silly.

I think that's to do with good old money!
but hey a half a page review with photo in Metal hammer is great!(most of the cd reviews don't have band pictures) and did you see the three page feature on Biomechanical in there!

 

[lad]

Yeah that was pretty cool. Fair logic, but still.

 

[WinterSolstice]

It has a lot to do with politics. There are more fans of Bullet-whoever-they-are than Biomechanical. It's the very nature of the popular media to overly-bombard you with the same bands over and over again (how many times do we have to see Dragonforce, Lacuna Coil, and Trivvium in every issue of Metal Hammer and Kerrang?). That's why I'll always have respect for Metal Maniacs magazine. They cover every bit of metal - no matter how obscure or popular - and they have distribution EVERYWHERE. And their writers actually do their homework and have a genuine passion for music. They don't have agendas, from what I've seen.

http://www.metalmaniacs.com/
http://www.myspace.com/metalmaniacsmag

Back on topic: that just means there's more unconquered territory for the band.

 

[Existenz]

Album Of The Month in Metal Hammer Greece

 

[Existenz]

8/10 From Terrorizer Magazine

 

[Existenz]

Kerrang Magazine

 

[Existenz]

10/10

www.burnyourears.de/

 

[Michel]

Dude, as I don't speak german at all, I tried translating the page thanks to Babelfish.... Laughing tears shed are I being rapidly :

"As I the CD insert and BIOMECHANICAL loose-put am glad I that I sit on a chair with seat-back, otherwise I backwards at the wall would have been crushed."

"Assistance, I war no more air!"

"Groovend like a Grizzly in trunk roll young by the area"

"More words do not find I unfortunately, in order to express my enthusiasm! Ingeniously!"

BEST. REVIEW. EVER !

 

[Existenz]

Here's a translation of the review from Metal Hammer Greece (Album of the month)

8.5/10
We got our first warning with Eight Moons. Hard Edged metal , aggressive, faithful to the Metal sound John K left us with in 1993, but it was adapted and brought forward to more contemporary landscapes.
The Empires of the Worlds not only made Biomechanical to be seriously noticed as a forced to be reckoned with but has shown that the band can offer something refreshing in Metal and has the potency to do so.

And now Cannibalised has come out to not only end the concept of this trilogy but also to finish off the unsuspecting listener .
Much more aggressive than it’s predecessor, as hard as this sounds to believe, Cannibalised brings Biomechanical in such levels of intensity , energy and heaviness, that there is a chance some people won’t be able to take in everything in one go.

But the more you listen to it the more you discover the treasures inside this music, the more you realize that everything is there:
Opener Fallen In Fear could be the most honored homage to Painkiller in 2008. The tracks Consumed and Through Hatred Arise give the necessary space for John K to develop a film score of a movie that he can only visualize. Predatory prays on you with its almost Fear Factory style guitars and Violent Descent will seduce even Death Metal listeners.

The epitome of modern metal is right here. An amalgamation of the soul and power of Pantera and Machine Head, the personality of Priest and Halford, the derailing character of Death on the ‘Sound of Perseverance’ period, the forward thinking of Strapping Young Lad and Messuggah and of that something ‘truly individual’ that shines through bands like Nevermore.

As far as the sound is concerned the collaboration of John with Chris Tsangarides not only produced the best results but it works on a completion level. The sensibility and experience of the great producer has merged perfectly with the film scoring , almost symphonic production of the sound and the ideas of the artist.

We are talking about a dense album, treacherous, sweeping, album - and this is a part of it’s destructive beauty.
But it is also a work of complete cohesion, worked to it’s smallest detail, as an individual album and also with short injections from Eight Moons and The Empires of the Worlds. Every note, every little bit has something to say and to add to the entire outcome. Like a heavy film script, it grabs the listener by the throat and tells the story with such tension and aggressiveness that when it’s finished you know you can’t take it anymore but at the same time you need it. You ask for it again and again.
Cannibalised might be a tall order to take in all at once but it would be the same with a film that needs your unconditional devotion in order to unlock it. But the payoff comes from within the experience that it offers you. Through the journey of emotions that it takes you and its sheer energy that it emotes.

2008 has started really well. Not only from the point of view that Heavy Metal is alive and well (proved with releases like this one) but also that it has a very prosperous future. And if Cannibalised is a sign of things to come then the future is very good indeed….

 

[Existenz]

www.blistering.com

 

[Existenz]

www.hardandheavy.net

 

[Existenz]

10/10

www.darkside.ru

 

[Plague Witch]

My review for METALEATER - 10/10

http://www.metaleater.com/albumreviews-biomechanical2008.php