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Mechanical Organic: This Global Hive ...

Melodic Progressive Metal

4.0/5.0

Website Facebook Twitter YouTube
Unsigned / Self-released
Words by Craig Hartranft,  16.05.2014

Australia's Mechanical Organic returns with another venture into This Global Hive, offering us Part Two. As the band name might suggest, this recording is another juxtaposition of melodic and rather eclectic progressive metal by Mechanical Organic, though it's not without some accessibility. I suspect the dark foreboding conspiracy themes and images also continues from the Part One. But even this dark lyrical character is presented in the arrangements with the juxtaposition of deep heavy riffs and the lighter scattered and drifting synths. These then are accented, punctuated, by rapid to steady guitar leads. You can hear this within most every song, notably The Drifting Part, Show Me Oblivion, or An Architect's Farewell (which offers a longer, more impressive, solo). At times, there's also an almost staccato delivery in the compositions, or perhaps a more steady plodding pace, only to be injected with fast flurries of riffs and drums as within Through The Lens and An Architect's Farewell.

It hadn't occurred to me with the previous album, but when you combine David Bellion's vocals with music of, say, Show Me Oblivion or Hate Remembers / Love Forgot, MO might remind some of Queensryche. It also has the most memorable and meaningful lyric with 'Hate remembers long after love has forgotten." And this turns us to the spoken word parts within this album. They were rife in Part One, almost to the point of being quite annoying. They return in the aforementioned Hate Remembers / Love Forgot with Russ Dizdar of shatterthedarkness.net seemingly preaching on spiritual warfare. It makes you wonder if there's not some veiled spirituality in This Global Hive, Christian or otherwise. All in all, This Global Hive, Part Two lives up to its name, continuing what was started in Part One: interesting and eclectic melodic progressive metal. Yet, perhaps it's time to move on with another concept.

Mechanical Organic - The Drifting Part

This Global Hive, Part Two lives up to its name, continuing what was started in Part One: interesting and eclectic melodic progressive metal.

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Formed 23 years ago, Finland's Excalion has had a turbulent musical career. Before releasing a trio of albums between 2005 and 2010, they had personnel changes. Currently, only the drummer and keyboard ... [ Read More ]