Mencea - Pyrophoric review
| Band: | Mencea |
| Album: | Pyrophoric |
| Style: | Progressive death metal |
| Release date: | March 23, 2012 |
| A review by: | R'Vannith |
01. Phosphorus
02. CCC
03. Elders
04. Hounds
05. Beheading
06. Pyrophoric
07. Invocation
08. The Dead
Pyrophoric substances are metals that spontaneously ignite when exposed to air. In that case it would be best to handle the latest release from Mencea with caution as it is not only prone to ignition but has a particularly nasty progressive death bite.
Abrupt and venomously angular riffs twist and turn throughout the record like the movement of the serpent which adorns the album cover. The guitar lines are all of the same body and sound and each riff a scale on the album's serpentine structure. The slithering of each track is almost indistinguishable from those that precede or those that follow as Mencea opt for an unbroken framework of Gojira-like technical bites thrown around a more industrialised death metal core. Changes in tempo are infrequent and occur primarily as brief and sudden bridges before resuming a punishing rhythm.
"Beheading" is an exception as it ends in a gradual slowing of pace before reigniting in the appropriately named title track. An album highlight is "Hounds" with its coiled chord shifts placed in a duality with a more insistently strung out guitar line which dominates the midsection especially.
The guitar work really is the mainstay of the album while being belligerently focused and unmoving for the most part it does shed its skin occasionally to reveal new flesh like the technical prowess exhibited in the sinuous track "Elders."
The vocals provided by Vlasios Ziouvas serve to augment the fiery industrial edge and the keyboards of Vangelis Labrakis emphasise the swerving guitars as both entwine with the consistent bass and drum work. All elements are closely fused and the final product is a very tight sound and concise delivery.
These Greeks have remarkable control on their sound which is evidently expressed in Pyrophoric. While piece by piece it may be indistinguishable it is all delivered as one heated and writhing whole.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
 | Written on 19.01.2013 by R'Vannith enjoys music, he's hoping you do too. |
Comments
Comments: 18
Visited by: 181 users
| K✞ulu Seeker of Truth Posts: 2573  |
A nice piece of "thematic" writing. 
---- Savor what you feel and what you see Things that may not seem important now But may be tomorrow R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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| Monolithic ♠♠♠ Posts: 669  |
I tried to find the album on Spotify, with no success. But Indie Recordings was kind enough to include "Phosphorus" in one of their compilations so it was a great chance to listen to it.  I find that particular track to be a bit nasty. Their songwriting skills stand at "adequate" but it is obvious they have some skills in doing rather original stuff with a pinch of recognizable influences. It's also kinda funny when I hear people calling the band a Gojira imitator (not in this review, of course.  ) while Gojira itself was accused of being a Meshuggah ripoff a while ago before solidating their spot with some good music. Who knows? maybe Mencea will go through the same procedure as well. (just a random guess, don't kill me.  )I'm thinking it is a fair review since I haven't listened to it completely. 
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099  |
Thanks guys Written by Monolithic on 19.01.2013 at 09:11 I guess Gojira have made enough of a name and sound for themselves to be used as a point of comparison, well for me at least. Oddly I'm not too keen on Meshuggah, but I do like Gojira. Wouldn't call these guys a rip-off really, like you say I think they have enough of their own sound going on to distinguish them. I agree, a lot of potential here to make a name for themselves. Bit more creativity in the songwriting and they're pretty much set. 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by Monolithic on 19.01.2013 at 09:11 I have never seen Gojira being compared to Meshuggah, which would be weird because Gojira was/is clearly founded in death metal whereas Meshuggah clearly comes from the technical thrash side of things. And to be honest Gojira have gone downhill after From Mars To Sirius with their worse ever by far being L'Enfant Sauvage
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 19.01.2013 at 13:10 I felt this one packs more of a punch, generally keeps me coming back to it in preference over L'Enfant Sauvage. I think they've quite a way to go before being as creative as Gojira but saying that they really did narrow things down on their latest.
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| Monolithic ♠♠♠ Posts: 669 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.01.2013 at 13:19 Oh Hi Marcel. You obviously have never been around Iranian metal fans. They would like to compare Opeth to Anathema if they can. Nah I didn't refer to their last album at all, I don't even like to write its name. From Mars To Sirius was great, The Way of all Flesh was good and "Infant Savagery" was...meh.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Monolithic on 19.01.2013 at 13:23  Nope I have never been around Iranian metal fans, except for the ones here on MS Quote: Exact same for me.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.01.2013 at 13:19 I hear an element of thrash in Gojira. Might say they were founded in a death/thrash hybrid?  As for the Meshuggah comparisons... well I think where people draw the simiarlties stem from that technical aspect, a very different take on the technical death sound. I think that's why some draw comparisons as they are essentially in the same sub-sub-genre or branch of genre. That's how I think of it anyway.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by R'Vannith on 19.01.2013 at 13:31 but Meshuggah have nothing to do with any death metal whatsoever  So also not technical death But enough off-topicness. Will check Mecea out because of the huge disappointment the latest Gojira was.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.01.2013 at 13:38 I definitely recommend it. Pretty solid industrial flavored prog death it is, the atmosphere reminds me of The Amenta a little bit which is always a plus.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by R'Vannith on 19.01.2013 at 13:43 you shouldn't have mentioned The Amenta because I find that a minus certainly not a plus
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| R'Vannith ghedengi Elite Posts: 3099 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.01.2013 at 13:45 Shit. Well it's not quite as atmospherically thick as The Amenta, much more attention given to the guitarwork. I'd bet you'd like it more than Gojira's latest, but that's not saying much at all really. 
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Greek prog death band, with an awesome album cover to boot? Consider me sold
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.01.2013 at 13:19 For once I agree with your criticism
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 19.01.2013 at 18:23 what the hell is this world coming to. LAst couple of days a couple of people have already agreed with me, aaaarrrrgggghhhh
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996
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| Monolithic ♠♠♠ Posts: 669 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 19.01.2013 at 18:39 Well I have been following your posts lately. Seems to me that we have more than just one thing in common.
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| Dr. Strawberry Posts: 698  |
I hope the reviewer can try his best to understand or doing more research about progressive music before writing any sxxx over here... Mencea is one of the most talented band I've ever known... Both of their albums are considered masterpiece to me !
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