UMUR
The Audio Injected Soul is the 2nd full-length studio album by Danish melodic death metal/ industial metal/ metalcore act Mnemic. The album was released in 2004 by Nuclear Blast Records. This is the last Mnemic album to feature lead vocalist Michael Bøgballe as he would leave the band after the release of The Audio Injected Soul to devote his time to his family.
The music on the album is a combination of melodic death metal, industrial metal and metalcore. Bands such as Soilwork, Fear Factory and Strapping Young Lad come to mind, but Mnemic are not quite as original or unique sounding as their inspirations. The music is harsh with edgy razor sharp riffing and harsh vocals in the verses and usually melodic clean singing and harmonic chord work in the choruses. It´s very well done and sounds great most of the time but it´s hard not to call it a bit generic. The playing is tight and the songs are well written allthough they generally don´t stand out enough from each other. So while the original songs are enjoyable, it says a bit too much about the material, when the song I remember the best after listening to the album is the cover version of Wild Boys by Duran Duran.
The production is powerful and raw, but be prepared for a wall of sound and not much room to breathe.
The Audio Injected Soul is a solid and professional album by Mnemic and I´m sure fans of the genre will find it enjoyable. I find it a bit generic and miss a more adventurous and unique songwriting approach so for now a 3 star rating is warranted.