Mygrain - Signs of Existence (Album)
The title of Mygrain’s new album, ‘Signs of Existence’, shows what Mygrain had in mind when making the music. The album is as high-tech as any death metal I’ve ever heard, with multi-voice tracking, twists in distortion levels and computer-generated sounds aplenty. The cover for the album clues this in; while hard to discern exactly what is going on in the picture, it depicts a cloaked and hooded being looking on as a futuristic ship cruises over a bleak, desolate cityscape.
Mygrain is a young Finnish sextet with only one other complete album under their belt, 2006’s ‘Orbit Dance’, which received heavy applause from those dedicated metal-heads who managed to find it. ‘Signs of Existence’ is more in the same vein; pure melodic death metal. The band receives unavoidable comparisons with Soilwork, the famous Swedish metal group. The similarities are definitely there, in the video-game-like beeps, the raw distortion in the singing, verses dropping out for the highly-melodic choruses, and the strong, aggressive drum/guitar combination driving each song – ‘Alienation’ could fit in easily on any Soilwork compilation. However, Mygrain are less dramatic, faster, heavier and more brutal than their Swedish cousins.
Each track in ‘Signs of Existence’ is a complexly woven piece of work. The general trend goes thus; tracks start with a sort of guitar-based intro, drums will come in, singer Tommy will release a killer howl, and then the song will kick off in full, a la ‘Shed the Second Skin’ and ‘Human Wasteland’. The melodies are all densely interwoven; whirling guitar riffs, unstoppable frantic heavy drum beats and aggressive base underlies combine to give each tune a beating pulse that cannot be denied. Tommy’s high-pitched shrieks and hollow roars and Eve Kojo’s synthesized progressions add a counterpoint that keeps the mix from blending into the background, and they step up to take control of the tunes when the key melodic parts come into play. The one criticism I have is that when listening to the whole album, the tracks all sound similar enough to sort of blend together. A little more distinction between tracks would make the album awesome indeed. Yet, the bonus to this means that if you love any track on ‘Signs of Existence’, you’ll probably love them all.
‘Signs of Existence’ is a great album for any metal fan, featuring an abundance of the required raw power and brutal pace, yet sounding polished and complete. Fans of Soilwork, In Flames and other melodic death metal bands take note; there is a newcomer on the scene, and he isn’t pulling any punches.
