By Tim Bolitho-Jones
It’s quite fitting that Italy’s Mechanical God Creation are named after an Arch Enemy song. A five-piece melodic death metal band fronted by a woman who sounds like she swallowed a juggernaut engine? Yep, it’s not surprising that they’ve previously attracted comparisons to the Swedish institution, but even so, these guys are no mere copycats. They’re a bit more technically minded than Michael Amott’s gang, with intricate little melodies and off-kilter moments leaping into their music at seemingly random moments. They’ve also got a slightly cinematic scope to them, which comes to light especially during the midpoint of the ‘The New Chapter.’ Granted, the two acts aren’t worlds apart but this is enough to make them stand on their own two feet.
Not that this is the first thing you’ll notice though. From the opening roar of ‘I Am The Godless Man,’ to the snarling aggression of ‘The Sun Is No Longer Black,’ they seem to be on a single-minded quest to ignite pits in the bowels of hell. They are furiously heavy and certainly come from the nastier side of melodeath, singer Lucy sounding like she’d rather kick your teeth in than launch into a clean chorus. It’s entertaining if a little predictable and while MCG would definitely fit in in a major league support slot, it’s hard to envision them ever headlining a big stage on the basis of these opening tracks.
However, four tracks in they start to flex their muscles. The album’s centrepiece is a three-part epic (comprising ‘Before The Dawn,’ ‘Overlord’ and ‘What Remains’) and is an impressive showcase of what they can do. The first part is an atmospheric intro, the second is a ponderous slab of doom and darkness, while the third is a mournful instrumental closer. With bullets flying through the air and the sombre attitude, the natural assumption is that this is a retelling of the D-Day landings and it does a great job of establishing them as more than hardcore fans paying lip service to the Swedes.
It’s followed by a string of hard-hitters. ‘Black Faith’ is a furniture splintering bar-brawl turned into a song and one of the absolute highlights, while ‘Dark Echoes’ is a juddering, awkward beast that lurches from rabid fury to mid-paced rumblings with a pinch of Sikth-style riffage thrown in. ‘Bow To Death’ and ‘Warface’ meanwhile are meat and potatoes melodeath anthems, not particularly original but catchy enough to do the job and get the neck muscles working. The closing ‘Red Blood On White Snow’ then rounds things off nicely, a John Carpenter-intro quickly collapsing into an intense finale where Lucy sounds like her lungs have caught fire and eclectic guitar work sees the album out.
‘The New Chapter’ then is an album that’ll scratch the death metal itch and contains enough moments of brilliance to justify your attention. Plus, Carlo Molinara’s drum work is really quite exceptional. He takes centre stage more than once and his manic skin-pounding is one of their biggest strengths. They’re not quite ready to step out of the shadow of Arch Enemy, but there’s promise here and it’ll only take one more argument with a gig photographer to propel them into the limelight.
- ‘The New Chapter’ is released on 29 March 2019. You can get your copy HERE.
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