Line-up:
Vocals - Dave Holch
Guitar - Joe Tiberi
Bass - Jon Oloier
Drums - Scott Oloier
Im not sure who does Keyboards.
Mechina is an industrial/death metal band from the Chicago area. They currently are not signed to a record label, although they have gotten many offers. This is their first full-length release.
Drawing a heavy influence from bands like early Fear Factory the opening song Shattered Cry kicks off this opus and Scott Oloiers drumming comes at you heavy and fast which pummels your senses so much that it would even make Raymond Herrera cry. [b]The Assembly of Tyrants[/b] is a musical sensation that draws you into their woven world of Cyber-Sorcery delivering a deafening roar to the cerebral cortex. Holch bellows out his brood and dark vocals thoughout [b]Assembly[/b] with well thought out lyrical content.
The song Clash of Cultures is a deep and suffering atmospheric mood swing enveloping you with complete sorrow and despair. Holch also adds a little more flavor by throwing in some clean vocals albeit not at the same heights of a certain Burton C. Bell but still effective none the less. The bands chemistry is tight and they seem to perform their attack flawlessly with a barrage of various tempos found in songs like Machine God . Two instrumentals appear on [b]Assembly[/b] Apothica and Warfog both of which seem to carry the listener to passionate and serene soundscapes.
Guitarist Tiberi seems to virutally tear his guitar apart while shredding the riffs for Skin Deep while Holch crying out " draw thy weapon for pain, just for the kill ". After Image shows the Oloier brothers totally in sync while battering their instruments in total unison. To date im not entirely sure who does the keyboard work for Mechina but its not overdone and flows very nicely with the aggression that the band creates. As we near the end of the record we come to the title track The Assembly of Tyrants which within itself is a masterpiece of a song flowing with both great musicianship and beautiful and creative keyboard work. The last track on the album is a remixed version of Clash of Cultures which features no vocals this time around.
The only problem with Mechina is that as of now they are treading down a path that has already been done. I was also somewhat disappointed that there wasnt any solos on the record.Overall, The Assembly of Tyrants is a devastating and soul searching album and fans of the industrial/metal genre should definitely add this album to their arsenal. I myself love this record as it pays homage to early Fear Factory by keeping the vibe and sound dark and malicious. Despite their similarities with Fear Factory, Mechina holds a lot of promise for the future of metal. I believe this band has a lot of potential and havent really scratched the surface of their abilities yet. They have all the fundamentals down now its time for them to go and seperate themselves from the rest of the pack. Do yourself a favor and get yourself infected with the Virus known as Mechina.