Mnemic - Passenger

[circus_brimstone]

Mnemic – Passenger
Nuclear Blast – NB1837-2 – January 19th, 2007
By Jason Jordan

So apparently the Danish five-piece Mnemic have undergone a major line-up change since they unleashed their sophomore album The Audio-Injected Soul. Now they’ve secured ex-Scarve vocalist Guillaume Bideau, but sadly, that doesn’t exactly heighten their appeal, which is partially due I bet to how much they can sound like Strapping Young Lad and other big-time acts.

Because there’s a heavy industrial presence in place, songs such as ‘Humanaut,’ ‘Pigfuck,’ and ‘Stuck Here’ can easily be compared to those of the Townsend-led outfit. Meshuggah fanatics’ ears will perk up during certain moments, too, as Passenger borrows from the inventive Swedes. Also of note is the occasional similarity to Fear Factory, on ‘Shape of the Formless’ and elsewhere, which makes sense since Christian Olde Wolbers had a hand in the production. Speaking of notable figures, one of the most redeeming tunes is ‘Psykorgasm’ and that’s because it features vocals by none other than Shane Embury (Napalm Death) and Jeff Walker (ex-Carcass). Mnemic have a few passable numbers up their collective sleeve of course, but none that moved me in an overly positive way.

Despite their best efforts, the majority of Passenger comes across as hackneyed. The fact that the promo is split into 99 tracks doesn’t make matters easier because it slows down what should be a relatively quick process – skipping between songs. What the 99-track phenomenon is doing for the War Against Downloading I’ll never know. In any case, I can’t recommend Mnemic even if they possess the instrumental chops to get by.

Official Mnemic Website
Official Nuclear Blast Website

 

[RustyBlood]

That doesn't sound encouraging at all. But I think it could have been better if you tried to review the album with the approach of reviewing the band itself other than trying to spot similarities to Meshuggah, Fear Factory, SYL....etc. Because if you do that with any other band, you'll find some elements of the music that are similar to lots of other bands and nothing will be intresting anymore.

 

[BrandonS]

I didn't really catch too many similarities to those other bands either, apart from the occasional riff breakdown which I guess is supposed to be similar to Meshuggah... The review wasn't really informative about how the CD actually sounds after the comparisons which I didn't really notice... You didn't say how the band uses those floaty clean sections during choruses like they did on the first CD occasionally, and the heavy parts felt much more brutal to me than on the last record. Also they aren't using that crazy 5.1 mix or whatever it was they did on Audio Injected Soul... Sounds pretty great though anyway. Maybe not as open (obviously) but still good.

 

[Deranged_demon]

I'm really disappointed with the developement of mnemic.. i adore meshuggah and when i heard mechanical spin phenomena i thought that mnemic could possibly fall in to the narrow meshuggah genre sooner or later.. audio injected soul was OK but not great but Passenger is in my opinion just boring and strange.. BAD strange not COOL strange.. and i can't stand the vocals
But make up your own mind, don't let anyone judge for you...

 

[Evil Dead]

The review is right on. Ive liked the other Mnemic albums, this one though is pretty awful.

 

[Puzzleface]

I guess I'll be the lone voice here that disagrees completely with these reviews. I love Mnemic. I think Mechanical Spin Phenomena and The Audio Injected Soul are fantastic albums. Passenger is better. Bideau is the shot in the arm the band needed. His vocals are a hell of a lot less screamier than Bogballe's. I loved his stuff he did with Scarve and I know he is going to do amazing things with Mnemic. The songs "In The Nothingness Black" and "Meaningless are the high points of an already excellent album. Probably my favorite album since Strapping Young Lad came out with Alien

 

[The Antihero]

But I think it could have been better if you tried to review the album with the approach of reviewing the band itself other than trying to spot similarities to Meshuggah, Fear Factory, SYL....

Mnemic has always seemed to me that their influences come across a little too blantantly. Not that they're trying to rip off anybody, but maybe they're a little too enthsiastic about the bands they love and the music doesn't develop as organically as it could.

Still like 'em though. It's nearly impossible to love Fear Factory as much as I do and not like these guys.

 

[Silent_Scream]

I love Passenger, i think it's their best album. Guillaume is a much better vocalist than Michael, my only problem with the album is lack of variety. Best songs are In the Nothingness Black and Psykorgasm.