Mnemic - Sons of the System Review

Posted by Marshall Slayton on 01.31.2010

Fans of Metallica and Meshuggah would not do wrong by checking out this ridiculously heavy industrial metal band from Denmark. Headbangers, come inside and enjoy.



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
12. Dreamjunkie (Bonus)
13. Orbiting (Remix by Leatherstrip)

As a piece of heavy metal goodness, Mnemic’s latest dropping, Sons of the System, is exactly the kind of album I hoped would open 2010 – a brand new decade – with blazing fireworks. There’s no question the band is extremely talented, despite being one of the better unknowns in the headbanger’s world.

Mnemic, sadly, still hasn’t quite elevated themselves past “band opener” status, which is a damned shame. On the other hand, they’ve caught the attention of some pretty excellent bands: Metallica, Deftones, Machine Head, Meshuggah, and even Fear Factory have all given their thumbs up to the unknown Danish industrial metal group, and Mnemic has opened for all of them. That’s a pretty impressive resume.

The band has been quoted as saying about their latest effort: “…it has become more theatrical, more electronic, and just more catchy, as we have put all our focus on writing good songs and not being afraid of experimenting.”

Truth be told, they’re right. Sons of the System is way theatrical, in the best way possible. Its grandiose quality allows it to become the album you can put on at the gym while using the treadmill -- and you imagine outrunning bad guys firing their pistols at you. There’s not a single song here that wouldn’t be right at home on the soundtrack for the next “Saw” movie or another reboot of “The Punisher.”

Across the board, Sons of the System is blissfully and righteously heavy. With the opening track, Mnemic drags us to hell and doesn’t let go. The formula is made clear right from the start, a mix of screaming and singing (but not emo whining, thank God) and chugga-chugga-chugga guitar riffs borrowed heavily from Meshuggah. No complaints here; if you’re going to steal a formula from somebody, it might as well be somebody good. Mnemic puts this formula to work, and what’s most captivating is how the song "Sons of the System" manages to top five-and-a-half minutes and never lose any of its thunder.



The same can’t be said for the rest of the album, unfortunately. Any of the first five tracks can be used as a concert opener, no problem. Songs like “Mnightmare,” (Get it? Like “Mnemic?” AHAHAHA!) “Climbing Towards Stars,” and “Diesel Uterus” all open with heavy guitar riffs which can get the crowd moving into a circle-pit without effort.The first five songs go by in a blaze of glory. But, like most heavy metal albums, this one falls into the same pitfall: fatigue.

There’s a point, and it occurs right after the seven-minute “March of the Tripods,” where one thinks, “Man… this album’s intense. I need to take a break.” So you take an ice cream break, unwrap the paper off your Choco-Taco, ingest that sucker, and come back to the music several minutes later. But the second half of the album fails to thrill you as the first half did. Something about it feels like ground that’s already been covered. It still impressed the hell out of me, but it didn’t connect with me on a personal level as most of the earlier songs did.

The US version comes with two bonus songs, one called “Dreamjunkie,” which uses mostly clean vocals, but proves itself as one of the better songs – the riff is so scratchy and unpleasant, it’s actually strangely beautiful. The remix of “Orbital” by Leatherstrip left an awkward taste afterwards. The techno heavy mix sounded more in-line with Combichrist, and that’s not the same kind of music at all. Combichrist is foot-stomping music, while Mnemic is fist-pumping. There’s a clear difference between the two. Trust me.

The 411:  Sons of the System is, in the end, an above-average album with an average flow. There’s no denying my love of heavy metal, but this shit grows tiresome if there’s no variety in it. Mnemic has enough ballsy-ness to get themselves halfway through, but towards the end, it all starts sounding the same. But the first part? I enjoyed it more than most music I’ve heard in a while. It’s the shot of adrenaline I’d been looking for, and I hope Mnemic’s next album is one badass power surge to the brain. Recommended.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]