Mnemic: I’ve Been You – new video

 

 

Danish metal fusionists MNEMIC have just unleashed a new video upon this world, directed by miracle-worker Patric Ullaeus. ‘I’ve Been You’ comes from the band's fifth album ‘Mnemesis’, released in June 2012 on Nuclear Blast Records. ‘Mnemesis’ was recorded with Tue Madsen at his Antfarm studios in Aabyhøj, Denmark, and its amazing cover artwork was created by Metastazis. Download the tune ‘I’ve Been You’ for free from Nuclear Blast here and  buy ‘Mnemesis’ here (Nuclear Blast Europe) or here (Nuclear Blast U.S.):

[In guitarist's Mircea Gabriel Eftemie own words:] “For the ones that are curious about our new opus, I can say it’s more melodic than what we’ve done in the past, but at the same time more energetic and not so technical. We tried to incorporate the traditional MNEMIC-esque sound and universe into the compositions, as good as we could. At the same time, we tried to move forward, like everything else in life. All in all it’s more of an atmospheric and melodic record, at least for me. In any case, hope you will enjoy it just as much as I do, and if not, no biggie, we are grateful that you at least took the time to read these lines:”

MNEMIC: Junkies On The Storm – courtesy of Nuclear BlastRecords

“Much like watching television,” [explains the group's official bio] “riding as a passenger is a largely passive experience which breeds a shared state of quiet inactivity. Every so often, a jolting experience to awaken the senses comes along to remind us that where we come from is gone, where we thought we were going was never there, and where we currently find ourselves is no good unless we can get away from it. Aspiring etymologists are familiar with the Greek word “mnemonic”, meaning “the art of developing memory”. But for one particular group of Danish musicians named MNEMIC who are eager to carve out their own musical niche, their name can simply be taken as “the art of developing.” [More here]

Formed in 1998 in Aalborg, Denmark MNEMIC released their first album, ‘Mechanical Spin Phenomena’, in 2002 through Nuclear Blast Records. The full-length was awarded with 9.5 (out of 10) by Blabbermouth's Chris Clayton who commented: 

“Bolstered by acerbic riffs and strong, flirtatious melodies, ‘Mechanical Spin Phenomena’ could never quite be accused of being a one-dimensional recording, even if the general theme is one of pure, dirty, bloody extremism.”

In 2004, MNEMIC released their second album (and the world's first album to be recorded with binaural recording technology), ‘The Audio Injected Soul’, which sold almost 35,000 copies in North America alone. After some personnel shifting, MNEMIC issued 2007's ‘Passenger’, which has sold over 50,000 copies in North America, apparently also due to clever promotion by the band and their label. Thom Jurek, Allmusic, has praised the release:

“ ‘Passenger’ is a study in human entropy: the lack of involvement in one's life leads to not only the wrong kind of pacifism, but to the decay of the senses, of logic, and of the ability to make sense of emotions, psychological states and spiritual impulses; one can site inspirational sources from J.P. Sartre to Stanley Kubrick's  “2001: A Space Odyssey”. There are many inspirations for the themes in these songs, but what matters is that they rock like an unholy prophet assembling the masses for deprogramming.” [More here]

MNEMIC described their next album, 2010's ‘Sons Of The System’, as “very eclectic, very diverse, and nothing that you would imagine coming from a band like us; more theatrical, more electronic, and just more catchy, as we have put all our focus on writing good songs and not being afraid of experimenting.” AllMusic's Alex Henderson nevertheless understood:

“So inevitably, there really will be some purer-than-thou ideologues claiming that even though ‘Sons Of The System’ leaves plenty of bruises, it doesn’t leave enough of them (which is sort of like saying that Margaret Thatcher isn’t right-wing enough or that Hugo Chavez is too much of a conservative). But let the ideologues of the metal underground say what they want - ‘Sons Of The System’ is another exciting alt-metal disc from these Danish agitators,” [read the rest here:]

MNEMIC: Diesel Uterus – courtesy of Nuclear Blast Records

MNEMIC features: Guillaume Bideau – vocals, Mircea Gabriel Eftemie – guitar, Victor Ray Salomonsen – guitar, Simone Bertozzi – bass and Brian Larsen – drums