Ten years ago, Mnemic first came into the metal world with their fantastic debut Mechanical Spin Phenomena. They are band that portrays a very groove metal sound but also containing a lot of industrial influence. At the time, industrial metal was one of the top music genres I found myself listening to on a daily basis. Their latest release of Mnemesis gave me all the reason to go back and to revisit the best album they had ever done which resides greatly in Mechanical Spin Phenomena. Indeed it is a very adrenaline filled album with some seriously heavy moments and a hint of some electronic industrial sound.

First, to get it out of the way, Mnemic has overall been a pretty solid band, straying away from sounding too American, especially that in their early years. The album’s aggressive attitude on their debut is one that you will find yourself popping in your stereo when hit the gym or doing something to get yourself psyched. The first track alone, Liquid, pushes the extreme quickness of palm muting on the guitars all while delivering some bombastic drumming. Riffs are more than easy to find yourself nodding your head as each beat rolls along. Blood Stained is probably my favorite track I remember from first listening to this album. It’s one of those songs you can definitely see a crowd jumping to at one of their concerts. Somewhere along the lines in the song, an electronic sampling layers over the main low sounding riff and sounds very industrial.

The song Ghost might be one of their most recognized songs and for good reason. It goes to show that simple riffing done right can really bring about a big sound that is hard to forget. Michael Bøgballe’s vocals here are probably the best on the album as they sound great clean and almost hint to resemble a very Rob Zombie vocal sound. The guitar work may not fancy many guitar enthusiasts, but since this is more industrial based than most, riffs will be large, simple, and overpowering such as the song Db’xx’d. The following, track Tattoos, Michael gets a lot more vicious with his vocals. However, when he does do clean singing, it is very memorable and worthwhile.

Once the album gets closer towards the end, the fantastic title track Mechanical Spin Phenomenon comes in with great force. It’s hard not to get into a fighting mood with this song, as well as many of the others as a matter of fact. The main chorus here is layered very differently than most of the other tracks giving it its own unique vibe.

Mmenic’s debut album up to this point will always be my favorite from the band. Its relentless grab from start to finish is worth revisiting even ten years down the road. This album will easily heighten the energy in almost any situation needed for it.