MENTALLO & THE FIXER - Algorhythum
Songs: 13  Time:  68:50
Hmmm.  The more that I listen to this recording, the more it kinda grows on me.  Granted, it is far from the best thing Mentallo has ever done, but Gary wanted to try something different, and that he did.  At times, the musical patterns on Algorhythum become a bit redundant.  Proxima is a perfect example of this.  For nearly the entire length of the piece (just over 6 minutes) the music barely changes.  What begins to sound as merely an opening for a track that will eventually transform into a more powerful piece soon becomes the heart and soul of the track.  Beneath the churning rhythm the gruff vocals can barely be deciphered…..good thing that the lyrics are included!  Systematik Ruin, on the other hand, is a wonderful piece that contains both past elements of the Mentallo sound as well as some more lightly textured, near ambient sounds.  While not as chaotic as previous Mentallo piece, Systematik Ruin does have some of those peculiar, mildly disordered beats and sequences.  Unearthed could have easily been used as the opening, intro piece as it is a slow moving, beatless piece full of samples, buried deep beneath the ebbing sequences.  It takes awhile, but eventually Choice Flaw shines through with audible vocals, immensely twisted samples of someone moaning, and crisp, tin-like synths.  The beat, which is very classical sounding (big bass booms) rumbles on in the background after the vocals cease and as the track winds down.  I like this one because it doesn't follow your standard verse-bridge-chorus-verse style.  Instead, it twists and winds its way through several different musical arenas.  Much like Systematik Ruin, Carbon Based blends together the new and the old.  Again not as heavy and harsh as Mentallo of the past, it still keeps the listener on their toes as to what will happen next.  Gary introduces a flat break-beat on Revelry, an up-tempo track with gritty vocals and dense musical elements.  Resonant Echo and Luminaries are a pair of tracks that really drag the album down. Both are slow moving pieces that trudge along with nothing included to keep the listener interested.  Gary set out to experiment on his sound and it seems that, for the most part, his new style was not as appreciated by the fans as he had hoped.  I, for one, find Algorhythum somewhat interesting, although not fascinating from start to finish.  With his next CD, Love is the Law, Gary stated he was going to try to return to the sound that the fans of Mentallo love.  That would be great, so long as he doesn't start to repeat himself musically.  Maybe if he took some of the positive styles of Algorhythum and implemented them into the next CD he'll find that eh can alter the sound of Mentallo and still keep his fanbase happy.
 
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