Mechina - Spasms of Human Tragedy and Broken Matter Manipulation

Two tracks from Mechina's upcoming album Cenotaph.
01 01 2023
HD audio available on our bandcamp page.
More info at Mechinamusic.com

[@renatoconceicao6747]

Where are you David ?😞😞,.its awesome but we need David harsh vocals here 😞😞

[@michaelroy7754]

I found this band on Christmas morning and ive been listening almost non-stop. I think my dad mightve sent a gift from heaven! Now I need a CD player something

[@ShiningSkylight]

Dude.. enjoy :)

[@milkman2266]

Like the first guy said, enjoy!! This band is magical and truly unique. There’s a video on KZbin that has their entire discography up to embers in one long video if you’re keen on a binge ;)

[@AliBabas40Ninjas]

Dude..... welcome to one of the absolute sickest bands in existence.

[@Sandman385ekb]

10 years ago. On January 1, I accidentally found the Empyrean album and since then every year I look forward to returning to this dark future of humanity

[@robeast692]

This band I discovered like 2 or 3 years ago and listen to them all the time they are so amazing

[@faustlican5566]

Spasms is so fecking good. I have "This monsoon descends from high above the sea" stuck in my head. And that is where it shall live

[@darthy0da]

Oh man, I'm a big fan of "Broken Matter Manipulation." It's a bit different from the normal Mechina sound, but it works really well, and I'm just a big fan of any time you guys do pure instrumental stuff. Can't wait to listen to the full album in its entirety!

[@ShiningSkylight]

I'm curious if these are two different tracks where they didn't want to reveal too much so they just had one Vocal and one Instrumental. This could be a first for them to just have pure instrumental but it'd be extremely interesting if it had Vocals and we just dont know lol

[@XLRider2]

@@ShiningSkylight I'd say Earth-Born Axiom is essentially an instrumental. It has little voice clips in there, but no actual vocals. Also Broken Matter Manipulation is freaking sick and I'd love to hear more stuff like it

[@ShiningSkylight]

@@XLRider2 I'm ashamed I forgot EarthBorn Axiom thats a good call!

[@Senzorei]

@@ShiningSkylight They've had a few instrumental tracks, mostly at the end of their albums. Aetherion Rain and As Embers Turn To Dust come to mind.

[@AliBabas40Ninjas]

Agreed absolutely. I loved the middle eastern elements!! Reminded me of Non Serviam during the super driving staccato double kick parts 🤘🤘

[@loony6302]

Been listening to Mechina since high school so about 10 years, each album is a banger cant wait for next one

[@zOceanCamel]

jesus it's been almost ten years for me too

[@bork750]

Spasms of Human Tragedy is incredible

[@GuardCharr]

Both songs are awesome in their own way! Spasms of Human Tragedy gives me Zoticus(-Compendium) vibes and oh yeah that menacing cybernetic beast into the cello hits just right - Broken Matter Manipulation is just... 100% YES!!!

[@DOBbysMusic]

I've loved you guys since Assembly Of Tyrants. Still fucking got it.

[@Dan_ModernDayViking]

Hmmm, okay lots of Xenon vibes here. I remember the line "I will breathe the air of Acheron, to see if it tastes of Earth" It's beginning to feel like we are there, that moment described where Amyntas wishes to regain memories of his homeworld and reclaim what it is to be human. Searching for home and purpose beyond all this dead machinery and petulant war. It's a nice nostalgic feeling looking back to that album. The last song you released had a moment that felt like it was straight from Terrea, which is my favorite track on Xenon because of that ending part of the song with Dave's cleans echoing in a frozen symphony. Moments that give me chills in music are very rare. That was one of them for sure. Those are what I look for in really good music. The beautifully described imagery that takes you to another world. The moment where it opens on something fantastical and exhilarates you. The moment from Godspeed, Vanguards where the radio chatter pauses, you wait a second in anticipation and then hear "Contact Ground". Chills every time. That's what I love in this music. As long as you make feelings like that you'll know that you truly make something incredible. I think that's the human spirit Amyntas is looking for, and what I'm looking to relate to in these characters. I don't care about the wars or edginess or tyrants or arguing over anything, I just hope those chills moments wont be years apart anymore. I want music that touches my heart and amazes me the way beautiful art does. Those moments make true fans and should be the goal of every piece of music.

[@va9053]

Man, incredibly well written - I agree wholeheartedly.

[@grenballiv2844]

Instrumental at its best

[@MatthewSimonFletcher]

Broken Matter Manipulation is absolutely gorgeous!!!

[@ProjectDarkWolf]

I love the greater emphasis on symphonic elements than usual in Broken Matter Manipulation, really compliments the narrative.

[@Guzwar]

Spasms is a very good track, but Broken is on a whole other level. Very Meshuggah-lite inspired, the way the drums play off the guitars, and the melody in the background is the perfect backdrop for the rhythm.

[@metalhead8728]

I LOVE MECHINA,,, best feelings ever WOW

[@bluethescrub7408]

Feels familiar and fresh in the best ways, how you guys maintain this momentum year after year is astounding.

[@MxHavoc05]

Thank you for your music Joe!

[@Pyrshevdmitriy]

Here, apparently, the times of such a wonderful group as Mechina ended. I can’t even believe that they created such masterpieces as albums: Progenitor and Empyrean, these albums, like antique statues, were something outstanding and something that could be left in the heart for life. I'm really sorry that they started making such empty and superficial music.

[@vavra222]

Yeah i feel that way too. After Progenitor, their music went down the rabbit hole of too much effects. They lost pretty much all the deep sounds, its all just high-pitched digital noise at this point, really sad. Im not a musical expert and this is just how i feel, if anyone else likes it - thats great. Im just missing the impactful nature of their older stuff.

[@equinox5224]

Old Mechina! Yesssss!!! \m/ :)

[@Mitsuru14]

Each album is always a treat and a great way to kick off my new year! Been listening for 8 years and this never gets old. Each album is a banger, looking forward to Cenotaph! Broken Matter Manipulation fucking rules!

[@Bennick323]

Listening to Broken Matter Manipulation on my phone and now I can't wait to get home and hear it on my audiophile headphones!

[@Thomaslorenzen]

can't wait for the full album!!! =D

[@Ferlius93]

Insanely gifted band and continuous supply of awesomeness every year!

[@justinkendall7639]

Joe you’re an animal I love you dude….

[@UltraK420]

Absolutely brilliant and elegant melodic production as always and somehow it just keeps getting better every time you guys make something new. I've been a fan for over 10 years and have never been disappointed. Now I have to listen to this again while playing Star Citizen, this is going to be a truly epic soundtrack for my adventures and anyone who wants to join.

[@rebuffi5903]

good old Battle Mechina is back on the menu, boys

[@Creepachrist]

So excited!

[@robertdavis4192]

Ya know I consider myself a bit of a music geek/snob I love jazz, classical, progressive rock, and Mechina! I can listen to my favorite Mechina songs over and over and get into this deeply focused state of imagination where I get lost in a deep space far future

[@TheAbigor96]

14 minutes of pleasure! the best band ever!

[@MY1BLACKCAT]

everytime i listen to any of your new stuff, i am always surprised that it just keeps getting better but not changing your style-this sounds so amazing on headphones

[@enterthearcade]

this is just nuts. so freaking good!

[@seriousstuff8887]

Outstanding band !

[@zwilde1]

Love your stuff!

[@KevinT2553]

More bangers! Always look forward to the new year releases.

[@BioMech2012]

Epic 👏👏👏

[@ElsuperXISO]

10/10 Lo mejor.

[@dracosolis7956]

Siege and Venator were admittedly quite underwhelming (rather odd to me since Telesterion was such a huge hit for me). Biggest problem for me was that most of the songs didn't have much identity on their own. But so far this seems a step in the right direction! Excited to see what's to come!

[@NytoDork]

Siege and Venator had almost no harsh vocals, and that imo caused them to be less varied. Cenotaph fixes a lot of the issues I had despite also being very light on harsh vocals (none so far, I'm listening to it for the first time while I'm writing this lol), but I can say that they're taking more time to explore and as a result each songs feels more memorable to me. It'll probably grow on me more and more

[@DmitriiBekreev]

Ну просто шикарно!

[@SpecialDeFX]

What a banger! Good on you Mechina!

[@marcinszuba2246]

Roll on new years day🤘

[@BEEFSERPENT]

Those blast beats are insane 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻

[@FenrirDevOps]

Absolutely fucking epic. What a wonderful way to get 2023 started!

[@ninjaresbg]

Nuh uh, I am saving these tracks for when the album comes out, so I can listen to it properly.

[@mohabsoliman7172]

deadalus, amyntas and hydrus. such an epic apocalyptic war.

[@Sound_Exciting]

👍👍👍👍👍🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@хорошее-дело]

В 90-х слушал Fear Factory, Meshuggah- Mehina хорошее продолжение ещё Xerath помянем 🤟🤘

[@TheMrCos1]

Algorythm bless.

[@porgchopsandwiches6194]

😱😱😱😱😱

[@CE_PHE_US]

SUGOI 🥵

[@djkpps]

Dioses del séptimo universo 👍

[@kaboose111]

Hello, old friend.

[@danilium9346]

Broken Matter Manipulation звучит очень даже интересно.

[@user-ei6mr8ld2b]

The instrumental is insanely good, reminds me of xenon. The second track will fit those who like sybreed. I loved the complexity of the riffs. The only thing that bothered me was that the vocal part was monotonous and just traced the keyboard scale from beginning to end.

[@angryktulhu]

Fukkk I love sybreed I’m just in the beginning of the 2nd song dude ahhhh cool cool

[@Silver.Leaves]

More like it had a very good direction in the beginning but the mid part is completely off and is not connected with it in any way

[@angryktulhu]

@@Silver.Leaves I mean yeah honestly after listening to that whole track, it doesn’t sound like sybreed to me at all. It’s not bad, just something different

[@user-ei6mr8ld2b]

@@angryktulhu I didn't mean to imply that the song was cyber and groovy like sybreed, I meant to say that it was a twist on the riff that had never been done before in mechina's music, a technique that drop (sybreed's guitarist) would likely create.

[@angryktulhu]

@@user-ei6mr8ld2b twist? You mean like in Rusted creature? The verses

[@battlecrown4708]

Ohh, Horizon Effect, Anathema, The World we Lost... I remember... And i wont forget them.. Now, what Mechina doing, is not epic, as the past...

[@twiztidlestat]

Is there a definitive list of Mechina songs that just have clean vocals and NO growls? Im MUCH more interested in those sort of songs.

[@milkman2266]

Can’t give a definitive list, but the more recent albums are light on growls. I would say from telesterion to now. So telesterion, siege, Venator. Going further back there’s a lot of no-growl tracks on progenitor and as embers turn to dust as well.

[@Winslinator]

Non Serviam Elephtheria Ordinary World Zoticus Ode to the Forgotten Few Cryoshock The Horizon Effect Godspeed, Vanguards The Synesthesia Signal Division Through Distance Realm Breaker Gene Heresy The Archivarius Chaos Ritual The Worst in Us Shock Doctrine Purity Storm Claw at the Dirt Blood Feud Erotica Freedom Foregone Suffer Praise Hydrus Sacrifice Zone Totemic Venator Aphelion For All to See Cenotaph Starlifter The Grand Hunt Spasms of Human Tragedy The Haruspex Sunrise Andara's Will (I omitted songs with spoken lyrics only from the list)

[@forsaykenredskye5985]

i'd expect a music video in the near future, to actually have some visuals on top of this masterpiece would be fucking amazing, like anything they make is just straight masterpiece. idk any other band that does this good and then just one ups with something better. it's just amazing every time, i can't get over it at all how good Mechina is.

[@blackefeltsch7459]

The second song is absolutely vicious. I like it because it breaks the boring and repetitive mold that you have dug yourself into for the past 3 years with a stomping riff and exquisitely dark and frightening ambience in the background. Finally a song without the old booming same sounding orchestra again. Reminds me of good old INTERNECION! As for the first song, I don't like how the vocals are mixed. The endless echo makes it very hard to distinguish Dave and Mel. They might just be one person at this point. A new mix would also help. Every album with the same drum/guitar sound becomes stale.

[@Rose.Of.Hizaki]

So im guessing since Melrose joined the band, Dave isnt doing the harsh vocals anymore?? Its a shame. both of them could have built up quite a dynamic like the earlier albums.

[@mournbladexcii7275]

Goddamn thats some tasty shit.

[@ares9701]

Until 'the world we lost' returns to spotify you will not have my complete respect ;), removing that was criminal - Love the second track though, hoping for more diversity!

[@Holagrimola]

lyrics? :)

[@Wraeuk]

Guys why did you mix out all the bass again 😭

[@kar12894]

there is bass in this?

[@kar12894]

@@willmurphy4073 i blame this on the women they employed, always. fucking. ruin. everything.

[@Winslinator]

I finally found myself in the right headspace last night (an absolute requirement!) to listen to the album for the first time. Cenotaph, The Grand Hunt, and The Haruspex Sunrise each took my soul for a RIDE and are in my opinion this album's immortal tracks. Unfortunately, I really disliked Spasms of Human Tragedy because of the way the lines "Cold clouds burn" to "As they both collide" and "Air pulls upward" to "Blood will pour" were sung. It just sounds really uninspired; so much so that while listening during the latter verse, I was wishing the song would simply end. I do agree with the sentiment others have expressed that the lyrical style as of late has grown a little stale... every track no longer seems to knock it out of the park. Not like that's a requirement but I feel like Mechina used to do that consistently. Don't get me wrong, this album as a whole is an absolute banger and Mechina far and above my favorite band, I just feel obligated to express as a fan. To conclude on a positive note, I got a lot of personal meaning from The Haruspex Sunrise. Especially when they said, "Build your walls strong or be taken by the sword" .... Thank you, I really needed that.

[@duckey75]

kinda of sad that dave seems to have taken the back seat in this band

[@duckey75]

broken matter manipulation is tight tho

[@blackefeltsch7459]

Indeed. A tragedy one might say.

[@TheZcarekrow]

Mas de lo mismo

[@josephbrown-hernandez7953]

Old school Mechina fan here, and I’m talking about the MySpace days with Assembly of Tyrants. Just heard the entire album on Bandcamp. it’s the same garbage with the duets! Guitars are awesome but the constant overlay of that chick’s voice is destroying the backbone of this band.

[@ZytheJR]

Spasms of human tragedy starts strong but then the melodies kinda feel lost... the changes in pitch kinda feel random. Not the biggest fan of that one.

[@Silver.Leaves]

My thoughts exactly, the could-have-been-great song is ruined by that.

[@willmurphy4073]

With regards to Spasms of Human Tragedy, it's more boring, uninspired and drum-laden stuff (doesn't mean it's bad it's a good song for what it is, but it's far below what I know you guys are capable of). A lot of that song just feels like drums with some sci-fi vocals and an uninspired ambience in the background. Struggling to hear the guitars or riffs. Doesn't feel like Mechina is willing to evolve - at least, not for an entire album. One or two songs might be different-ish, but the majority of stuff in any given album is the same these days. I used to be a huge fan but you guys seem to just produce the same album over and over - no changes to mixes, no changes to the formula, no willingness to add anything new or do anything differently. It's honestly sad. There are so many things you could do - you could add synths, add new orchestral elements (even then, I haven't heard those since "As Embers Turn to Dust", so I guess you've just scrapped that entirely), you could do literally whatever you wanted and you just don't. I can't stand it. You used to be a pioneer in the 'Space Opera Metal' but now you're a sad parody of yourselves. So little complexity and variation; I hate to see it. Stop with the cloudy ambience and [RE]introduce the distinct symphonic and orchestral elements. I can't remember hearing a distinct stringed instrument or a piano or anything since "As Embers Turn to Dust." They may have been present in albums since that one, but those albums were all so forgettable to begin with (because of the same issues I'm addressing here, now). For 90% of your songs, it seems like you've scrapped the cool electronics/industrial/cyber elements, you've seemingly scrapped the wide, atmospheric orchestral elements, you've scrapped the unclean/heavy vocals. What happened to songs like Starscape or Anagenesis - what happened to those kinds of songs? What happened to your creativity? Even in the comments, the only song that's really getting recognition is "Broken Matter Manipulation" because it's not a pathetic regurgitation of your stale formula - it's innovative, big, and features really awesome atmospheric ambience over a powerful and brutal guitar riff - it's an amazing song. "Broken Matter Manipulation" here proves you still have the ability to break free of your own mold - do it more, I beg you. I want to be your biggest advocate because I know you can make truly wonderful, immersive, atmospheric masterpieces as demonstrated with Acheron, Progenitor, and As Embers Turn to Dust (coincidentally, your most beloved albums by fans), BUT YOU JUST DO NOT DO IT. Nobody else does it like you do, but for the last three years it seems like you don't even do it like you do anymore. Hope this upcoming album proves me wrong, believe me; there's nothing I want more than your album to be a departure from the monotony that was Telestrion/Venator/Siege. Please take this for what it is: a fan who wants to see you evolve and do something differently (or at least not make every song in an album the same). I want you to be the best you can be and you are not being that. I know it's not my place to dictate how you should write and mix your music, but you should at least consider what I'm writing here. I don't want you to sacrifice your guys' vision for your music, but I do NOT want to keep purchasing what is essentially the same album. AND FOR GOD'S SAKE STOP HAVING THOSE ANNOYING 5-10 SECOND LONG DRUM BREAKS! THEY'RE SO OBNOXIOUS! EDIT: I know that "The Grand Hunt" features a lot of cool elements - the elements I described that I want to see in your music, like some industrial elements and some soft symphonics - but I'm relatively convinced it's an outlier rather than the way forward. It's a great first step to doing something differently (and by differently, I mean doing what you used to do pre-Compendium release). EDIT 2: After giving "Spasms of Human Tragedy" more listens (this time with headphones) I will say that it sounds better than I originally gave it credit for. I especially like the darker and more melancholic vocals, as well as the symphonic elements providing a moody and slightly despair-esque feel. Do I still feel like there's some things left to be desired? Definitely, but it's not as "repetitive and uninspired" as I originally said - I do still feel like it's that though, but just not as strongly as before.

[@kar12894]

this band has been royally pussy whipped, unless you give great head you're better off debating wind. The worst part is that the vocals became so reverbed and distorted you cant even differentiate between joe and mel 😆

[@JakeFarhang]

"You should at least consider what I'm writing here" is such a crazy thing to suggest, why would musicians feel inclined to consider a wall-of-text Yelp review comment from a random person as something to influence their entire direction going forward. To have opinions is one thing, I have a few gripes with Mechina's choices as well, but if an artist felt compelled to take-to-heart every opinion in the comments section then there would be nothing personal left in the music, that's certainly not how art works.

[@willmurphy4073]

@@JakeFarhang I agree that I shouldn't have said that - that was said in a moment of frustration. I would like to note that I even said that I ultimately have no say in Mechina's work nor are they under any obligation to pander to me. In fact, I would feel awful if the band pandered to me or, indeed, to anyone who complained loud enough. I will always advocate for their freedom to create the music they want, haters and complainers be damned. I also understand that I was quite harsh and demanding in my feedback, but that's just because I feel like I would be doing a disservice to the band by not going as in-depth into the issues I feel their music has as possible. All I wanted to do was address my issues with Mechina's songwriting, composition, mixing, and overall formula, but also provide solutions to said problems. Are my solutions the 'right' ones? Maybe, maybe not. Music is subjective and there might be plenty of people who absolutely want more of what Mechina is doing now, but there are also A LOT of people who are not content with the direction Mechina has been going for the last 4 years. EDIT: I also know that Mechina is probably doing their best, and that you can't cater to everyone. I don't want to dissuade them from making music in the slightest - I just want them to consider approaching their music from new or different perspectives, or return to certain methods/formulas from the past, or create exciting and new formulas for the future.

[@tombfishmd2227]

I think cryoshock blew up and they just kept with that sound. Something is still missing from the last 2 albums and so far this one as well. It's not just the growls, I can't put my finger on it.

[@willmurphy4073]

@@tombfishmd2227 To me, what's missing is a complete lack of intricacy. I feel like Mechina is using the sci-fi vocals and ambience to carry whole songs. In some parts, all you can hear are loud drums, and in others all you can hear are super generic ambient landscapes. The issues is that there's rarely anything else going on - sometimes there's an interlude, but those end up being drum fillers or ambience fillers. Even during the chorus (or what I assume is the chorus) of "Spams of Human Tragedy", all the guitars (arguably the most important instrument in metal songs!) are completely drowned out by literally everything else. It sometimes feels like Mechina is using guitars as background instruments.

[@user-mc1oz6si8q]

about nothing

[@Eripura]

What the hell is this? No. Just no. I thought Venator was the bottom, but I see Mechina still finds new ways to disappoint. Having followed the project since Conqueror, and at times even being rather invested in the story I'll say Embers was the last good album, and even it had its cracks. Telesterion had its moments. But this is just sad. And I'm sad, because I have to watch one of my favorite projects degenerate into whatever crying choir boy/girl shit this is. So, after 3 (and what looks like 4) albums of crap I refuse to be disappointed further. I'm out.

[@Lethe8737]

Not an airport

[@blackefeltsch7459]

Really weird marketing.

[@Antishumer]

Скучная, пердящая каша, старые альбомы имели атмосферу холодного космоса, и опять эта баба на вокале. Ужасная гитара все портит, как и плохое сведение звука. Conqueror и Progenitor в десять раз лучше последних альбомов.