Cannibalised

Do you know that story of Captain Beefheart and his best-known album Trout Mask Replica? For those of you who don't, the guy was the pretty peculiar leader of a pretty peculiar band, who worked with Frank Zappa among others. At some time in 1969, in the wake of the composition for his soon-to-be magnum opus, Beefheart locked up his bandmates for months in a rented house, forbade them to leave and verbally abused them until they collapsed and played exactly what he wanted, even recording the whole album in one take. All this, coupled with the fact that the leader himself wasn't exactly a virtuoso neither a music theory docent, resulted in one of the weirdest, most cryptic and experimental albums ever put to tape.

I like to think that 2008 Biomechanical had become a similar kind of band, with four brand new members under the whip of the mastermind John K. Actually, on Cannibalised we still found the same old lineup... it's just so unrecognizable I swear that the 'dictatorial frontman who starves some new dudes and exploits them to pursue his most demented musical dreams' theory seemed the most logic. But just like when I first heard Trout Mask Replica, the first question I asked to myself was: what the fuck did this guy have in his mind? I have some serious difficulties to think that the idea of music of a human being can be something like this. I'm not even sure they are playing in existent time signatures.

The problem is, on The Empires of the Worlds there was already a lot (and I mean really a LOT) going on, so giving a good dose of steroids to said album's sound does not seem the best idea to have. Or at least, even acknowledging that Biomechanical's musical offering is not the most accessible you can imagine, Cannibalised feels like a step too far. Whereas the previous albums had hooks catchier than syphilis, like the choruses of 'Do You Know Me' or 'Enemy Within', drowned in an oppressive, cold, desperate atmosphere (especially on the sophomore), here the closest cut is 'Fallen in Fear''s one, which would be similar to the latter, except for the fact it's continuously fragmented and kills any momentum. I know, catchiness is not the primary requirement for music like this, but when you've got something to hum along or something that sticks in your mind after you stop the music, the experience is really better. And they showed they could, already. They basically reached a complexity limit where they could still compose songs with a proper logic, and then proceeded to surpass it by a couple miles. Even said 'atmosphere' is no more tangible on this. Which brings me to the next issue...

The real problem is, with its predecessor's production this could have worked a lot better. It would still be headache inducing and feel a handful of hours longer, but at least you could HEAR all the little things they clearly spent a lot of time composing. Really, it's like they perfected the material to the finest and then threw it to the first sound engineering enthusiast they met in front of their rehearsal studio, without being interested in how it would turn out. Okay, obviously it was a conscious decision (John K said 'to give it a more old-school cut', I read somewhere), and the hypothetical random guy in the street was actually Chris Tsangarides (R.I.P.), but my version works a lot better once you hear the end result. It's baffling. The marvelous bass work of Jon Collins is completely lost, the guitars and drums got way softer and muddier, even John K himself is intermittently suffocated by the uncontrollable chaos on display, and coupled with the shitload of voice tracks it gives the idea of numerous individuals constantly screaming/singing/whispering at a very low volume in your ears from multiple angles. Try to decipher the title in the chorus of the title-track (a good contender for the most annoying tune) without looking at the lyrics (incidentally the only interesting feature left), but it's only one of many examples. To sum it up, think of literally every good aspect of Andy Sneap's work on The Empires of the Worlds, then make it worse, or remove it, and you got the idea. I can't stress enough how K perfected a formula, coupled it with the most perfect production imaginable, and shelved everything for... no apparent logic reason. I just can't wrap my head around it to this day.

Granted, just like Trout Mask Replica, Cannibalised may benefit from several listens too, if you dare. It won't help you give a good half of the songs a meaning, but at least you will recognize that the aforementioned 'Fallen in Fear', 'The Unseen' or 'Predatory' have somewhat of a typical song structure, even if the guys try their damned hardest to hide it. Incidentally they're also the most enjoyable tunes, in a way... personally I come back to them from time to time, yet inevitably ending up exhausted after one of them ends. The opener is still the best of the bunch, even if I don't know if I'm the only one to think that its symphonic intro sounds accelerated or whatever, but it's not a good first impression. 'Predatory', while starting in a slightly more traditional way, soon rises up to the album's heights of incoherence, to a point I literally cannot follow what's being said even with the lyrics under my eye – again, clearly not the only example, with the title-track and its riff forcing his way above everything being the worst offender, and 'Violent Descent' a close second. It's frustrating. But enough ranting on the production, for the sake of keeping this review on the rails.

'Breathing Silence' and 'Through Hatred Arise' at least initially provide a bit of room to catch a breath of oxygen, if nothing else; mind you, light years far from a 'Save Me'-type ballad – yeah I liked it so much I've mentioned it in all the 3 reviews – just the same stuff played slightly slower and with some disjointed clean interludes. And... 'Through Hatred Arise' borders on awful, to be honest. I was hoping to hear more of K's impeccable falsetto vocals in some less chaotic moments, but... no. Just no. By contrast, 'Violent Descent' is the fastest and most outright insane song on here, and you would expect me ejaculating all over the place like the first time I heard 'Hands of Fate' by Sadus or 'Buried by Time and Dust' by Mayhem (those were the days...); but I didn't, since it feels so... fake?, and incoherent that it wouldn't have been possible. Think of Ministry's 'WTV', remove the killer riff, and turn the intensity of everything to the triple. There has to be someone who enjoys this kind of stuff, hell, I thought I were one of them, but I guess I've changed my mind after listening to this. The songs I haven't mentioned earn deservedly my personal 'most technical filler music' award, making every Meshuggah song drop to the second place. Sorry Jens, that was the only field which I saw your band triumph in, before now.

I really, really wanted to rate this higher, since I always thought Biomechanical were becoming more and more interesting, but when the first song already tires you in a mere 4 minutes and at the same time it's also the best song on here, there has to be something wrong. The only uses I can find for this album are to scare your non-metalhead friends, if you're that kind of guy, or to remind yourself what pushing the limits of something past the common sense can give life to. I, for one, think I'll stick with Eight Moons and The Empires of the Worlds, but I'll miss the guys, and I'd love to see John K involved in another serious project sooner or later, even if seeing his website I get the impression he may be done with metal after all.

You can also find this review on MetalBite.com.

It's easy to see why Biomechanical should be appealing. On paper, the recipe sounds crazily fantastic, with elements of thrash metal, groove metal, classical music, progressive song structures, and electronics all thrown together, which should sure as hell be exciting if nothing else. Oh, and it's worth noting that the guitarists can really play on this album. But Cannibalised ends up being quite boring, as well as an annoying experience to listen to in its entirety. This is how it works.

At first, you're going to be hit by how much is squeezed into the narrow confines of the production, 'Fallen in Fear' starting up like the world is imploding and the movie of the aftermath is being made live on location. However, due to all the elements listed in the first paragraph, there is no room for anything to breathe, mainly because everything is happening at the same time, often at a very fast pace. The guitars are a big disappointment in this regard, stuttering and chugging on very thrashy riffs that are essentially groovified by the excessive palm-muting and low tuning (I seem to remember John K saying something about 7-string guitars on this album), while the riffs are not all that exciting as they tend to drop to rhythmic chugs at several points during the songs. Alright, they are often polyrhythmic chugs, I'll give Biomechanical that, but they aren't all that juicy nonetheless. The solos, on the other hand, are much more satisfying, occupying a better position in the mix, screaming through the aural chaos with intense shredding that is probably best witnessed on 'The Unseen', though nothing quite caps the sheer exhilaration of 'Resurrected' from the band's preceding album.

Where it all goes wrong for Cannibalised is with the songwriting and the extra parts thrown in. It is incredibly difficult to tell where anything is headed during this album, which sounds like a good thing until you realize that even following many more listens you won't know where any of the songs are going. Some of them, such as 'Through Hatred Arise', remain at climax for such a length of time that there is no knowing whether tension is supposed to be building, maintaining, or whether it is absent, because the usual signals for excitement don't operate for these songs, simply stepping into passages of maximum intensity without warning and - as often as not - without effect. There is little of the swelling that the best songs from The Empires of the Worlds showed, where the pressure built until an inevitable bursting point, just a sudden switch from high intensity to ultra-high intensity. This is epitomized to its nonsensical nadir on 'Violent Descent', which erupts from clanging atmosphere into the most ridiculously fast blasts and raw finger shredding, offering precisely zero musical enjoyment. As such, it becomes next to impossible to remember what the path of any given song may be due to the fact that they remain confusing and insignificant despite repeated listens.

I find it difficult to know what else to say about the album after saying that it's awfully constructed, but let me get on to John K. His vocals in the past have been compared to Rob Halford, which is understandable given the range though not the extreme tendencies, while I guess Strapping Young Lad fans might prick up their ears at the same windswept screaming that Devin Townsend used to lay almost under the rhythmic fury of his songs. However, it's puzzling why John K would have decided to bury his own vocals so deep under the grooves of this album, since his style could have brought some melody to turgid 100mph grooves and hooks to the messy structures. As it is, he loses out to the bludgeon of low guitars and bass, only his symphonic additions gaining any attention from the listener. Since all this endless noise is so wearing, it comes as a blissful surprise that 'Breathing Silence' and 'Consumed' have plenty of quiet moments, which are sort of spooky, though would be more so if they didn't burst into full-on sprinting chugs at random intervals.

As a whole package, Cannibalised gets branded with the stamp of "avoid". It's possible that fans of Nevermore or Xerath will find this interesting, not to mention anyone who thought Strapping Young Lad were a bit short on intensity, but for most of us, this will go straight in one ear and out the other, the only difference being that you'll have obtained a throbbing headache during the experience.

For someone who hasn't heard of Biomechanical before, this album should be a lot of to process. Biomechanical are known to create some of the most fucked up soundscapes, if one can say so, and Cannibalised blatantly proves this again just like The Empires Of The Worlds did in 2005. Now this time, well in 2008 already actually, they have attempted to even exceed what they created before. In my view they have completely unleashed insanity with Cannibalised.

The simplest description is, that the music is chaotic. There are infinite things and ideas going on at the very same time throughout the songs and this totally overwhelms one like a colossal and universal assault on your senses. A lot of people criticize exactly this and call it unfocused, but that is not really the point in my view, if one just gets into it and listens to it many times to hear all the subtle nuances here and there. Already the intro to the opener Fallen In Fear soares high into the skies with its massive orchestral synth textures, which are accompanied by John's utterly inhuman terror-voice, who screams his very atoms apart, which comprise him, only to break down and catapult one's mind into chaos. The music, while being very progressive throughout the album, still manages to have very thrashy and groovy sections, which are extremely catchy. Choruses such as in the aforementioned Fallen In Fear, The Unseen, Cannibalised and Reborn In Damnation have the potential to be very infectuous. Another trademark of Biomechanical is their relentlessness and otherworldy chaotic pace, which, once summoned, exceeds all thinkable limits and makes one's blood pump faster through the veins. The speed is ludicrous and completely ridiculous, but for someone who craves these sort of energizing velocities this album should be the perfect find. Another big aspect of their music is the implementation of orchestral synth textures and keys, which accompany the music and make everything more epic and grand. It feels like a well-crafted score for a film at times. John K. the mastermind behind Biomechanical is very much into film music and blends his visions of bombastic soundscapes with extreme metal very well.

Now to the production. Many were aghast at the album's sound when it was released and I can understand them to some extent. It sounds very differently from their former album, which sounded more modern, concise and punching. It had more pressure behind the music than Cannibalised, because the drums sounded more pounding alongside with the guitars. Cannibalised's sound is very wooden and plastic, which might put off many people - I get that. Nonetheless the music itself makes more than up for the odd production and I like it no matter what.

This album is truly devastating, annihilating and (throw in any other adjectival synonym for utter destruction).

The preferred delicacy of any self-respecting metal consumer is a dish that, for lack of a better description, sticks to your ribs. A cuisine that is noted both for its exquisite taste, lack of a foul after taste, and the staying power to survive multiple binges is what ultimately defines a classic. Nevertheless, it’s not unheard of for even the most rabid connoisseur to dabble in a little no staying power brand of food along the lines of a technical, fast as hell appetizer guising as a meal, or more plainly, Chinese food metal. Normally the most blatant combos on the menu tend to reside in the tech. death style, but there is a token groove metal band that, through an odd loophole in the form of a progressive approach, has morphed a stale hunk of grooving bread and a side of water into an overwhelmingly MSG infused bowl of beef lo mein, and they go by the name Biomechanical.

Picture Pantera circa 1992 opting for a very different path after their magnum opus “Cowboys From Hell” where Phil Anselmo kept the Halford screams while expanding on the grittier shout he picked up from Exhorder, where Diamond Darrell didn’t change his name and expanded his rhythmically intricate grooves rather than dumbing them down, and where a keyboardist was picked up after being inspired by recent Dream Theater output and you’ll be part of the way there. The rest of the way is achieved through taking into account that John K, fresh off a rather brief stint with Balance Of Power, has a somewhat different mentality when it comes to writing songs that could be described as eclectic to the point of becoming convoluted. Between the heavily symphonic bluster, the hyper speed half-thrash riffs, the blazing solos that would even make Herman Li blush, and the wild combination of Anselmo meets Halford meets Geoff Tate vocal worship, it’s difficult to know where one song ends and the next begins.

The downfall of this album, or to put it in a more nuanced sense, the reason why this fails to be an all out classic is that there’s way too much going on here for even the most advanced short-term memory to hold onto. One does not listen to this album, but rather experiences it, and the overwhelming barrage of aggression meshed with virtuosity leaves an impression of pure chaos that, by its very definition, cannot be recalled. “Violent Descent” in particular is so ridiculously fast and layered with noise that it sounds like a mechanized sprinting machine that pulverizes the race track of a 400 meter dash in a mere matter of seconds. And even the non-thrash, non-speed ballads have this impending feeling of chaos and fury to follow that they flash by without any notable consideration. The keyboard generated symphonic instrumental “Beyond The Descent” underscores John K’s lack of interest in creating anything that can hummed along to, and sounds about as pompously elaborate as latter day Richard Strauss compositions with a splash of bombastic, post-Wagnerian bluster.

It’s easy to see why “Cannibalized” was both saturated with immense praise and blasted as a pretentious pile of egotistic gibberish, there’s no middle ground with this sort of music unless you’re of an indifferent persuasion like me when it comes to memorable songwriting. When I’m of a certain mood, particularly when I feel like listening to the intellectual version of venting pure rage, this is a pretty good place to go regardless to whether I can sing along with it or not. It serves the same purpose that Brain Drill and Decrepit Birth do, but in a way that is somewhat more accessible to older school metal fans who don’t want every single syllable uttered to be done in a ghoulish, toneless bark. In fact, I’d argue that if so-called Pantera fanatics who want an alternative to their long departed favorite band should try this out rather than wasting their time with Vinnie Paul’s idiotic exploits with Hellyeah.

Spin 1: Oh my god, this is amazing! SOO FAAAASSSSTTT!!!

Spin 2: This is cool... kinda tiring though.

Spin 3: OK, I can't tell the songs apart, but it sounds cool.

Spin 4: I wish they'd slow the fuck down once in a while.

Spin 5: Oh for the love of god, this is an obnoxious album.



^And so goes my story with Cannibalised. I tried to like it, I really did; but John K needs to learn that although speed and technicality are pretty impressive, a load of speedpicking in strange time signatures gets very old very quickly. In fact, the above process can happen all within one listen of the album: simply replace 'Spin' with 'Song'.

Now, wall of sound production. It can be done well, it can be done badly. It can be Phil Spector or Dev Townsend, or it can just turn to mush, with an end result sounding worse than a black metal demo etched into leather. This is very much the case here. I can point out two specific problems. Number one: John K and friends (seems more accurate than Biomechanical these days...) try to pack in as much as is possible. Too much. There are just too many samey riffs thrown in together, too many layered vocal lines, too many blindingly fast drum fills; it all quickly blends into a noisy blob. Number two: they tried to pack in as much as possible on the cheap. The orchestral elements quite honestly sound awful, and half the time sound tacked on and unnecessary. I love orchestral stuff done well: Septic Flesh are one of my favourite bands of all time. But what I do not like is the sound of tired, MIDI replacements for actual instruments. Not only is the way in which the symphonics are integrated lazy, but they also have an artificial, fake tone. I realise that a symphonic 450,000 piece orchestra isn't within the financial reach of most bands, but come on. They could have at least invested in some better sounding gear.

The rare occasions on which the band steps back and chills are actually pretty cool sounding, thus the title of this review. Consumed is creepy as hell, and the transition from a sparse clean guitar line and spoken words to dissonant orchestration and thudding guitars is tremendously effective (or at least it is until the track dissolves into yet another occasion for the band to show off). Unfortunately, this is just about the only time on the album that the band show any awareness of dynamics (wait, there's something else than loud? let's try it out) and how to use them effectively. It's a real shame, because the song hits a hell of a lot harder as a result, and more of this could have made the album a lot more enjoyable.

In short, the bludgeoning on this album is not an effective one. I enjoy albums full of anvil to the face once in a while, but unfortunately this is not one of them. As far as I'm concerned, an album that is consistently fast and heavy must, MUST be chock-full of riffs and energy to pull it off. Here, the executive decision to bury everything under synths and layer upon layer of vocals makes everything sound sterile and mechanical. I know this is at least partly intentional, and that there's supposed to be an industrial, cold edge to this album, but it kills it completely. The next album will either need more variation or more actual riffs; as it stands, this is poor.

Even though the vocalist began to take charge of Biomechanical as his own personal play thing according to past members, vocalist John K continued to work on the band, even after all the other members departed to escape him. This, however, does not hinder the music on this release. Instead it seems to expand it, seeing Biomechanical experiment more in various elements on their latest opus, Cannibalised.

While the band's trademark blistering paced music is there from the start, the Cannibalised shows more of a melodic side with some of the songs on here. "Breathing Silence" is a more slow paced track utilizing acoustic guitars most of the time, branching off into a heavier track with a blistering solo that continues up through the climax of the track. "Consumed" also falls in this category, as having a heavy, yet rather eerie musical tone, especially during the normal verses. And, let's not forget "Through Hatred Arise" which, really feels like this band's vocalist had teamed up with Dimmu Borgir to write some sort of twisted ballad.

But aside the aforementioned songs, and a few really light song outros, like the one on "Reborn In Damnation" that bleeds into "Through Hatred Arise", pretty much all the songs follow the same guidelines. You have the echoed screaming vocals that are often overlayed by the same or different lyric line to sound edgier, as well as unrelentingly fast music with even faster guitar solos. While this really isn't a bad thing, and brings a well oiled machine feel to the mix, it may very well end up boring you after a while, or it can just be obnoxious, like the brief noise segment that appears prior to the guitar solo in "Cannibalised".

Lyrically the album is pretty well thought out. Some will argue that they were written more for shock value, and at times they would be correct, but much of the album's lyrical material is actually rather bland and can be confused with that style of writing. The tracks "Slow The Poison" and "Reborn In Damnation" seem to have the most shock value based lyrics, but that's about it.

Cannibalised, while a great album, definitely has it's flaws. What really stands out on this release would be the first half of the album. After "Predatory", the album seems to have a filler feel to it, closing with the rather unimpressive track "Violent Descent". After a few listens, you'll begin to notice some retativeness, and you'll notice a lot of studio looped vocal tracks, as well as background vocals that just abruptly cut off. But, regardless of these flaws, Cannibalised is still one release you simply must listen to this year.

This band has been getting a whole lot of press, and that makes enough sense, as they play exactly what the masses seem to want to hear these days: "shocking" music with fast guitars and "brutal" vocals, and lots of other "offensive" things for the soccer moms of the world to get up in arms about. What is the world coming to? Biomechanical might change their style up a little more than "safe" bands of this same style like Children of Bodom, but that just means they specialize in several different varieties of shit-flinging.

The basic formula for Biomechanical is to take (badly done) Pantera-esque groove/half-Thrash riffs and speed them up a few hundred notches, along with vocals that sound like the perfect mix between Rob Halford's high pitched wailing and Phil Anselmo's gritty shout, and a hard-edged, abrasive production that isn't easy on the ears at all. The solos are pure DragonForce-esque slabs of melodic richness that speed by you at about 300 mph, and there are some symphonic keys and vaguely Metalcore sounding harsh shouts as well, and when you get past the "OH MY FUCKING GOD THAT'S FAST AS FUCKING HELL!" novelty, you're left with a grisly, unpleasant mess of irritating, noisy crap. Seriously, these guys are obviously talented, but they can't write a song to save their lives. They literally sound like they're about to trip and fall over themselves. The music is bloated, completely overwrought and jam-packed with every idea the band could muster, slapped messily together in the same fashion that a dyslexic chimpanzee would pack a suitcase, lacking any sort of cohesive flow or sensible progression from one idea to the next. Fuck, this sucks.

The riffs here aren't even any good, either. The one thing that could've been the saving grace for Biomechanical, and they fuck that up too. Yeah, there are a lot of riffs, but they are just more of the same "half-Thrash groove" bullshit we've come to know and loathe in recent years from such wonder bands as Machine Head and Lamb of God, nothing special at all except for their sheer quantity. In fact, there are no songs here at all, just incoherent jumbles of crappy riffs and fast guitar soloing for the kiddies. Is that all it takes to please people these days?

There is no apparent rhyme or reason to Cannibalised, it being shockingly and frustratingly inept and inconsistent. This album is honestly near unlistenable, if not for the occasional moments where you get a solo that makes you sit up and smile, or a riff that you think would make you want to headbang if it was done with a better guitar tone, or a cool slower part that actually sounds very ominous and evil, and that just makes this album as a whole look even worse, because Biomechanical couldn't even manage a whole album of shitty music! The irony, it impales me with a bloodied blade. And why is shit like this always labeled "prog," anyway? Bizarre. If this is prog, though, then perhaps I just don't like prog anymore.

One more thought to leave you with, before I close the review: Biomechanical would be a Nu-Metal band if you slowed them down by about half and took away the melodic guitar solos. No sir, I'm not falling for this.

Biomechanical, you can take this album and shove it back right where it came from, because the Metal scene doesn't need it, or you, for that matter.

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com

Holy SHIT. What an awesome discovery, this is essentially ballsy power metal interlaced with thrashing intensity and death metal undertones all played at a progressive level. Think Manticora, Nevermore, Communic, Exhorder, Judas Priest, Outworld, and Persuader… now imagine if you took elements or something from each of those bands and have some sort of bastard child it would be something like Biomechanical. Hailing from the United Kingdom, I found these guys from a friend’s shady recommendation and I was so very happy I listened to him. There’s something for everyone in here on their latest recording, Cannabalised.

The musicianship here is amazing and combined with their remarkable talent to write some kickass songs, they have a great future ahead and deserve a massive following. Being my first introduction to Biomechanical, this is a quality album with everything you could want in a heavy metal album from guitar solos that are so fast it makes Herman Li look like that fag from Korn or falsettos reminiscent of Painkiller-era Halford or drumming insanity with double bass wankery that’s too awesome to not love. But then again you can find death growls that can be somewhat similar to Kiuas or blast beats like something you’d find on a DragonForce album. The progressive nature here is similar to what you’d find on a Nevermore album with its combination of sub genres into this melting pot of an album. The guitar work here is nothing short of fantastic with some of the fastest riffage I’ve heard this side of Dark Angel. These guys are simply put, outstanding; they have created a similar blend of riffing found on a Manticora album with hyper speed riffs that don’t relent throughout the song. Check out the opener Fallen In Fear, being probably my favorite song with a catchy as hell chorus that hasn’t left my head in days and a wicked solo.

Biomechanical strike fear with an onslaught of songs, three songs into it there is nonstop blasting METAL and then you find somewhat of a halt. After three fuckin’ fantastic songs of hyper speed power/thrash/death/prog fusion it halts up with a slow acoustic opener and nice harmonized wailing by John K. on Breathing Silence until… yep more blasting intensity with uber fast guitars after about a minute in that leads into one of the most intense guitar solos I’ve ever heard, something like Winter Madness off Wintersun’s debut album. At least they attempted at going slow before raging back into more up-tempo insanity.

Man did I mention this album was fast?? Which is a good thing of course, because this leads into Predatory and Slow the Poison with more of the fastest riffing to be found and drumming madness. This doesn’t relent, doesn’t let you stop headbanging or singing along… this is not for the faint of heart or weak-minded, I can only imagine one of those My Chemical Romance queers dying from first listen of this. 2:06 on Slow the Poison, holy BALLS. Anyway this continues with more hyper speed until Biomechanical attempts at slowing the pace down again with Consumed, but yet again despite fooling us with a slow acoustic and quite intro, after a minute or two passes it leads into more hyper speed. Through Hatred Arise attempts this as well, but surprisingly stays a reasonable mid tempo for a bit having much thematic and symphonic elements not quite found abundantly through the rest of the album making for quite a nice closing song. Oh wait it’s not over, Violent Descent is still here and to say this is one of the fastest songs on the album is an understatement. I’ve probably said a thousand times in this review how fast Biomechanical are on Cannabalised and now I’m mentioning it again, but they close it out with quite possibly the fastest and most intense. The drumming on this is fucking stellar with double bass that LITERALLY BEATS MY TEMPLES INTO PULP.

It seems this has been a raving fanboy review for Biomechanical, but there are some drawbacks. While this seemingly is the perfect combination of power/thrash/speed/prog/death, there are some moments which it seems too much, or that they are trying to hard to incorporate everything at once. Another thing is the vocals can be overwhelming at times, where it is layered a bajillion times it seems or that he is singing with a massive loudspeaker that sinks you in so that’s all you hear. They also use a technique that I don’t know what it’s called, but he’ll say something and then you’ll hear it like 4 more times as if there are 5 of him all singing the same thing but it’s not exactly overlaying vocal patterns (it probably is) it seems. Either way this is quite an experience that doesn’t relent having many influences all across the metal spectrum and should be recognized for those fans of Manticora, Nevermore, Kiuas, Persuader, and Outworld.