Month June 2019

Mechina – Realm Breaker

Peter Jones Leave a comment

Every once in a while you experience something, and can just tell almost instinctively, that what you are experiencing is special. So it was for me when, in 2015, I somehow stumbled across the album Acheron by some band called Mechina.

Acheron is the fourth entry in an albums spanning science fiction epic. I’m just nerd enough that this immediately intrigued me. Having followed the band from that time onward, I have to say I really love their blend of symphonic, progressive and death metal elements. For a while, they managed to maintain a yearly release cadence, but have since backed off on that, and for good cause. The band states they didn’t want the music to suffer by simply trying to hit some arbitrary release cycle. Good for them.

The last major release was As Embers Turn to Dust at the beginning of 2017. Since then they have been working on the follow up, as well as releasing a compendium of their albums, honing the story a bit. But the time draws near, and today I got my first chance to check out a bit of what is coming our way.

“Realm Breaker” dropped today, and is the first release of upcoming album Telesterion. And it is classic Mechina. Full of lush orchestrations, driving guitars and excellent clean vocals. There are no male vocals or harsh vocals on this track, and it fits. The vocals have a slightly computerized sound to them, which works well with the music and fits the atmosphere being created. And atmosphere is one of the key parts of any Mechina album or song. That was what made my first listen to Acheron those years ago so entrancing: the atmosphere is just excellent.

“Realm Breaker” continues that track record, and instantly has my very excited for where Mechina is taking their story and their music. While not a real deviation from what they have released in the past, the song continues to showcase Mechina maturing as artists. There is a bit more restraint, the music has more room to breathe, and the orchestration continues to feel integral to the music, not an afterthought. These qualities have existed, but really are becoming more pronounced as Mechina feels to be more comfortable with who they are as artists and what they do.

Bring on the rest of Telesterion. I can’t wait for more.

What’s the deal with metal?

Peter Jones Leave a comment

If there is one reaction I get most often, when it comes to music, is the shock and surprise of others when they find out what I listen to.

It isn’t just because I listen to metal. I mean, come on, loads of people listen to something they call metal. Certain aspects of metal are just super mainstream, and so that isn’t surprising.

No, it is more the breadth and depth of my metal love that shocks people.

And that is what I love so much about metal music. There is a type of metal for every mood, for every mindset, for every occasion. There is metal that is calm, quiet, introspective and sedate. There is metal that is stunningly technical, played by people with just insane amounts of skill. There is metal that just wants to take your head and (figuratively) bash it in.

There is metal that is slow, brooding, moody. There is metal that is fast, furious and just insane above and beyond anything most people have heard.

That doesn’t even begin to touch on the lyricism. Sure, there is lyrical crap in metal, as in anything. But it can be deeply personal, it can address mental illness, loss, heartbreak and pain. It can also be fantastical, science fiction, historical. Really, it is all over the place.

And then add in the different tools and instruments, and you have a complete cornucopia of music. Folk instruments, full orchestras, electronics, bag pipes, and so many others have all found their way into amazing metal releases.

And I sort of love it all.

Traditional, progressive, technical, black, death, symphonic, power, doom, thrash, post, sludge, djent, and so forth, I’ll check it all out. You want some blackened symphonic death? I can find that. You want instrumental progressive post-metal? Got that too.

It never gets boring, it never gets old, and it never fails to put a smile on my face. No matter how bad a day is, I can find some metal that either compliments, or lifts my mood. No matter how heavy, how mellow, how fast, or how ponderously slow, there is something for every occasion.

That’s the deal with metal.

A deeper connection

Peter Jones Leave a comment

I’ve always been a fan of music. I think I got that from my mother. I have vivid memories of her cleaning the house or washing dishes with a big, old set of cans on her ears, a huge extension cord going into the living room where the stereo was.

I remember flipping through records. Billy Joel, The Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson, Chicago and the Moody Blues all stick out in my memory. And Neil Diamond. So much Neil Diamond.

That love of music just seemed normal to me. Now, I find that isn’t necessarily normal. Not everyone has a near constant soundtrack to life playing. But I do.

I moved on from my mother’s music to classic rock. I remember being blown away by Led Zeppelin and the Who. Then I discovered Rush. Something about their music connected with me. They were my first concert in May of 1992. The acoustics weren’t great in the Delta Center, but I was hooked.

Over time I continued to listen to classic rock, but like a huge percentage of the population, started checking out Metallica and Megadeth with their releases in the early 90s. Next was Anthrax and “The Persistence of Time”. Something about the heavier music spoke to me.

Fast forward to the early 2000s and I was in medical school. I stumbled on Opeth’s masterpiece “Blackwater Park”. It took a while for the death growls to grow on me, but eventually they did, and the rest is history.

As I’ve aged my musical choices have tended towards the more heavy. I still love all types of metal and even harder rock. But there is no question that I love the heavy stuff, despite the fact I am now in my early 40s. I guess it’s true what they say, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old!”

Rock on my friends. Rock on.