It’s not terrible, just extremely monotonous and that run time is abysmal. 45 minutes in I’m on track 4, there is nothing here that is interesting enough to merit that kind of time. I don’t hate this sound, but I can’t imagine what mood or setting I would feel like returning to this. Maybe some intense gaming or something.

Another excellent record by Mechina, maybe their best since Progenitor and Embers. First two tracks are pre-album singles and therefore kind of optional, although Blessings is among the best pieces in here. Apart from that, Plague Pit, Wings of Vecterra and Honor are pretty much stellar songs. And honestly I'm glad they dropped Holch and clean vocal duets.

I don't know what the first comment is on about, this album is waaaaay better than Cenoptaph, which I totally didn't care for at all. This album feels like if Acheron and Siege had a baby. Sure the length might be a bit too much and some parts feel a little dragged out, but overall I enjoy pretty much all of the tracks. I'm also happy that there's more harsh vocals on this album, not completely nonexistent like the last one. The mixing is also better here as well.

This is a very difficult album for me to get through in one sitting, the over an hour lengthy run-time is overkill and unjustified imo. It's a shame because I might have found it a half decent album if they kept some of the songs shorter. The sound itself is great, and there's a bit more variation to their songwriting (growls, solo's, more progressive structures) with a few moments that outshine their previous few releases, which is probably due to it's extraordinary length, but there's just not enough to really grab my attention for long enough as the vast majority is still quite tedious and monotonous. It's not a bad album by any means though, but in the end it becomes background music as I start to lose interest by the end.

Pre-album singles aside it's 58 minutes of the best Mechina material since Progenitor. I didn't even include the singles in the album, feels like an "in case you missed it" inclusion. It's a great record with a sense of urgency and bite that hasn't been there in a long while.

Written by DonMoenning on 25.03.2025 at 23:03

Pre-album singles aside it's 58 minutes of the best Mechina material since Progenitor. I didn't even include the singles in the album, feels like an "in case you missed it" inclusion. It's a great record with a sense of urgency and bite that hasn't been there in a long while.

I think people missed the fact that The World We Saved and Blessings are supposed to be just bonus tracks, not part of the actual album.

I gave this a go based on the positive comments above despite my increasing malaise with their past few efforts (I went with the Spotify version of the album to skip the pre-album singles); I will say this is more enjoyable than most of what they've done in a while. Agreed with Meatwolf that I'm glad they dropped the clean vocal duets and got Holch back doing predominantly harsh vocals, as the effects-heavy clean duets were really draining on the past few albums. These songs in general, while lacking anything that's as memorable as the highlights of their mid-2010s records, feel a lot more dynamic and engaging than the 'everything constantly at 100%' vibe on Cenotaph and other recent records. I'd still probably prefer a bit more of a 'quality over quantity' use of Rose's vocals like was used on Acheron and Progenitor, although since she became a full member I understand them wanting to give her a lead role.

Written by musclassia on 28.03.2025 at 12:04

and got Holch back doing predominantly harsh vocals

Holch is not doing any vocals on the album except on two pre-album singles and is apparently not in the band anymore.

Harsh vocals here are mostly done by Dave Lowmiller.