Mechanism - Inspired Horrific (2009)

This is some interesting prog death metal from Vancouver, BC, featuring Gene Hoglan on drums, and Chris Valagoa (Zimmer's Hole) on vocals. It has an odd mix of vocal styles (grunts, shrieks, and harmonized melodic parts) and a hodge-podge of quickly changing riff styles. Some of it is moderately technical, but that really isn't the focus. Actually I'm not sure what the focus is, and that's my main complaint. There's some really good stuff here, but the quickly-changing styles never produces a smooth flow (as for example, Spawn of Possession do). The individual riffs and styles aren't particularly original, but the combination seems novel. I'm also not too convinced about the vocals. The grunts and shrieks are of course fine (how can you screw up grunts?), but some of the vocal melodies sound awkward and seem somewhat out of place. Personally, I'd like some more focus on the tech or progressive side. There are too many boring parts interspersed with the cool stuff. "Lord and Thief" is a good example: too much focus on the chuggah-chuggah. It's hard for me to believe that some label hasn't picked these guys up... though perhaps they're releasing independently by choice.

Check out their MySpace page for two representative songs from this album.