Mycelia
Garry from SAN PR recently dropped us a line letting us know about Mycelia, a Swiss originating band hammering out a robust blend of hard edged progressive metal. With influences ranging from The Faceless, Meshuggah and Between The Buried And Me, the guys are due to release their new record, Nova, on the 15th of July 2013, and it promises to be one that you’re going to want to hear. Seeing as we were sent through a copy to check out, I figured it was time to hit play and check things out for myself.
Opening with Shmashmortion we’re immediately thrown into a fast paced melee of roaring vocal lines, hammering drum work and blistering guitar work, immediately showing off the dexterity of the guitars, and the power of the band as a whole. Progressively orientated from the word go, the guys seem to have taken the genre and made it their own, powering things up to a whole new level and showing that sometimes, more distortion is indeed good! Massively powerful from start to finish, this isn’t a track for the faint hearted – quite simply it’s awesomely heavy, and damned good to hear. Ectoparasite continues this approach further, once again opening as it means to go on, launching you straight into the middle of a pit and pummelling you repeatedly with heavy guitar work, rumbling bass lines and a sense of all out insanity. Despite the heaviness the guys have managed to incorporate a serious dose of melody into things, keeping the sound alive with little intricacies that hook you in, before smashing you around the head once again with all out distorted power.
Seeming to mark a change with Dopamine, things suddenly chill out and slow down, moving from the all out power to a far more intriguing place, offering up an almost Incubus sound at first whilst still managing to show the power behind the scenes with the incredible drum work we’re treated to. Building to a crescendo, this track seems to serve as a connective between the previous and C.O.R.P, paving the way for another behemoth of a track to be unleashed. Once again using softness to fully accentuate the opening moments of the track, the gentle opening rhythms of the track pave the way for a bass heavy track to reveal itself to us, relying on melody initially before once again returning to the intricacies of progressive metal to carry things forwards. Powerful yet packed with hooks and melodies, this track is testament to the musical ability within the band, showing how able they are and how they can craft tracks which will work into your soul and stay there. Almost sounding like a mix of Meshuggah and Devin Townsend, this is a track which stands out as a serious high point on the album, and one which you’re going to come back to time and time again just to make sure you didn’t miss a single second of it.
Marking another shift for the opening of The Timemasheen, an eerie piano line and spoken word sequence greets us, leading the track into being through the use of electronic effects before launching into an unexpected yet strangely satisfying mix. Electronic drums combine with a bass heavy rhythm to form a sound that’s almost verging on the realms of electronica, showing there’s more to these guys than first meets the eye. Somehow making the track work alongside the rest of the album, this strange moment stands out as something which works, once again paving the way towards the enxt track and creating an ever more intriguing image in your mind. Returning to the more expected heavy riffery for Event Horizon, all thoughts of electronic effects fade out and we’re once again thrown straight back into the middle of a pit, the sludgy and bass heavy guitar work grabbing your attention and reminding you of where this album began. Dark and heavy once again, this is another track which truly displays the ability of the band, from the intricate guitar work through to the roving bass line and rolling drums, this track has it all – and it sounds damned good from where I’m sitting.
Moving onto the three part The Golden Ratio, we first start off with Prologue, luring you into listen with almost Dream Theater-esque piano work, building the sense of anticipation as to what is to follow and once again revealing the level of understanding of song writing within the band. Acting as it says it will, as a prologue, this track comes across as act one of a sequence, acting as a means to introduce everything you can expect. The guitar work here is insane, there’s no other way to put it – once again leaving the listener simply stunned at what they’re hearing through their ability to craft a track which you’re sure to embrace from the word go. Nothing changes for The Golden Ration – Interlude other than a levelling up of the power, continuing where the previous track left off and providing us with act two of the sequence. From bass heavy rhythms through to insane guitar work, this track stands out as another serious high point on the album, and a moment that I am already dreaming of seeing them perform live. Screaming vocals combine with a deep and powerful backing track, forming a sound that is going to sit you down, force you to listen and make you love every second of what you’re hearing – seriously, it’s beyond anything I’ve come across since setting up Loud-Stuff.
Closing with act three, The Golden Ratio – Epilogue we’re led to the end of the album with a track that epitomises the idea of progressive metal, from interesting time signatures through to carefully orchestrated guitar and vocal combinations. Finishing on a track packed with power, hooks and moments that will have you screaming ‘how do you do that’ at the speakers, there’s really nothing left to say other than wow – what a finish.
Mycelia are a hell of a band based on what I’ve just heard, with a solid understanding of their music, their instruments and what their audience wants. If you’re a fan of progressive metal then forget all about any other bands you’ve listened to, from hence forth you need to concentrate on Mycelia, and you won’t regret it for a moment. All I’ll say is they need to get on tour, and I need to see them – simple as.
To find out more about Mycelia, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
Opening with Shmashmortion we’re immediately thrown into a fast paced melee of roaring vocal lines, hammering drum work and blistering guitar work, immediately showing off the dexterity of the guitars, and the power of the band as a whole. Progressively orientated from the word go, the guys seem to have taken the genre and made it their own, powering things up to a whole new level and showing that sometimes, more distortion is indeed good! Massively powerful from start to finish, this isn’t a track for the faint hearted – quite simply it’s awesomely heavy, and damned good to hear. Ectoparasite continues this approach further, once again opening as it means to go on, launching you straight into the middle of a pit and pummelling you repeatedly with heavy guitar work, rumbling bass lines and a sense of all out insanity. Despite the heaviness the guys have managed to incorporate a serious dose of melody into things, keeping the sound alive with little intricacies that hook you in, before smashing you around the head once again with all out distorted power.
Seeming to mark a change with Dopamine, things suddenly chill out and slow down, moving from the all out power to a far more intriguing place, offering up an almost Incubus sound at first whilst still managing to show the power behind the scenes with the incredible drum work we’re treated to. Building to a crescendo, this track seems to serve as a connective between the previous and C.O.R.P, paving the way for another behemoth of a track to be unleashed. Once again using softness to fully accentuate the opening moments of the track, the gentle opening rhythms of the track pave the way for a bass heavy track to reveal itself to us, relying on melody initially before once again returning to the intricacies of progressive metal to carry things forwards. Powerful yet packed with hooks and melodies, this track is testament to the musical ability within the band, showing how able they are and how they can craft tracks which will work into your soul and stay there. Almost sounding like a mix of Meshuggah and Devin Townsend, this is a track which stands out as a serious high point on the album, and one which you’re going to come back to time and time again just to make sure you didn’t miss a single second of it.
Marking another shift for the opening of The Timemasheen, an eerie piano line and spoken word sequence greets us, leading the track into being through the use of electronic effects before launching into an unexpected yet strangely satisfying mix. Electronic drums combine with a bass heavy rhythm to form a sound that’s almost verging on the realms of electronica, showing there’s more to these guys than first meets the eye. Somehow making the track work alongside the rest of the album, this strange moment stands out as something which works, once again paving the way towards the enxt track and creating an ever more intriguing image in your mind. Returning to the more expected heavy riffery for Event Horizon, all thoughts of electronic effects fade out and we’re once again thrown straight back into the middle of a pit, the sludgy and bass heavy guitar work grabbing your attention and reminding you of where this album began. Dark and heavy once again, this is another track which truly displays the ability of the band, from the intricate guitar work through to the roving bass line and rolling drums, this track has it all – and it sounds damned good from where I’m sitting.
Moving onto the three part The Golden Ratio, we first start off with Prologue, luring you into listen with almost Dream Theater-esque piano work, building the sense of anticipation as to what is to follow and once again revealing the level of understanding of song writing within the band. Acting as it says it will, as a prologue, this track comes across as act one of a sequence, acting as a means to introduce everything you can expect. The guitar work here is insane, there’s no other way to put it – once again leaving the listener simply stunned at what they’re hearing through their ability to craft a track which you’re sure to embrace from the word go. Nothing changes for The Golden Ration – Interlude other than a levelling up of the power, continuing where the previous track left off and providing us with act two of the sequence. From bass heavy rhythms through to insane guitar work, this track stands out as another serious high point on the album, and a moment that I am already dreaming of seeing them perform live. Screaming vocals combine with a deep and powerful backing track, forming a sound that is going to sit you down, force you to listen and make you love every second of what you’re hearing – seriously, it’s beyond anything I’ve come across since setting up Loud-Stuff.
Closing with act three, The Golden Ratio – Epilogue we’re led to the end of the album with a track that epitomises the idea of progressive metal, from interesting time signatures through to carefully orchestrated guitar and vocal combinations. Finishing on a track packed with power, hooks and moments that will have you screaming ‘how do you do that’ at the speakers, there’s really nothing left to say other than wow – what a finish.
Mycelia are a hell of a band based on what I’ve just heard, with a solid understanding of their music, their instruments and what their audience wants. If you’re a fan of progressive metal then forget all about any other bands you’ve listened to, from hence forth you need to concentrate on Mycelia, and you won’t regret it for a moment. All I’ll say is they need to get on tour, and I need to see them – simple as.
To find out more about Mycelia, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls