The 2013 Arsies: January 17, 2013

January 17, 2013

I need to take a brief moment here to crown 2012's undisputed MVPs of metal: Scion A/V. This isn't a plug or a sponsored bit of business, but an undisputed fact: Scion has done more for metal than Kurt Ballou. They've sponsored tours, one-day festivals, videos, promotions, you name it. They've done more for the advocacy of metal bands than some labels I could mention.
One of Scion AV's promotions was early/exclusive access to Teratogenesis, the latest EP from Revocation. Still smarting from their early loss in last year's Arsies to The Human Abstract, Revocation comes out swinging. Their properly brief, five-song set starts off where 2012's Chaos Of Forms left off, with an unpretentious but potent form of thrashy death metal, but with their second song Spurn The Outstretched Hand they venture into fresher territory. The technicality is crisper, the sound more fleshed out and modern than their previous work.
Now it's Mnemic's turn. With no car companies in their corner, they answer back with their fifth album, Mnemesis. The band has always had a very accessible sound, but previously their better metal tendencies had held them back from becoming the Danish Evanescence. That restraint is tested more than ever on this album. You can hear the tension on Junkies On The Storm, a Devin Townsend-esque bit of emo-djent. After listening to (and enjoying) this album for months, I still can't shake the feeling that something's not right with Mnemic's formula. I'd be curious to see if any of you listen to it and hate it outright. I surely didn't... but as soon as I compared Mnemesis to the Revocation, I felt dirty.
We end the week tomorrow with Converge against Attack Attack!, and rest assured that I'll mention 'crabcore' at least once.