Dark Matter Energy Noir

Apparently, according to the press release, Mencea stands for, "Groove orientated, intense modern metal that bends the listener's perception of the various genres of extreme music". Good luck to them if that's what the press release writers feel they need to make up, but it's certainly not the noise that flopped out of the speakers. Formed in early 2004 in Athens, Mencea experimented with various formulas in order to develop their unique musical identity, which, oddly enough, is like an undercooked version of Meshuggah. However, this isn't the full story of Mencea. Certainly Dark Matter, Energy Noir's opener The Passing sounds like Meshuggah having an off day, but the album suddenly blossoms from the first few bars of the second track Ardad. From the uninspiring start Mencea deliver a very to the point, catchy and memorable piece of extreme thrash complete with a tasty middle section. The album continues in this vain with Forbidden. Laced with killer grooves it perhaps lacks a little melody but it’s a mile above the turgid start. Deep In The Under contains some inspired riff work and rhythm building as does The Holy Cast, however they're a little let down by the monotonous shouting of Andy Giolmas. The guy has a good shout/growl but he doesn't do anything with it and it quickly becomes tiresome and predictable. As a consequence the music behind him is dragged down which is a shame as some of the riffs and ideas are excellent. For every really good idea Mencea tend to counteract it with a needless shoddy idea. Eminence, in particular, thrashes along quite nicely with a genuine haunting section before it's ruined by an utter mess at the 1:37 mark. This is indicative for the whole album. The band has managed to wrench from within them some wonderful grooves, catchy rhythms and inspired dirges but their desire to chop and change takes away from the more effective material. In the end you're left with a heavy and sometimes brutal chunk of extreme thrash that teases but doesn't totally satisfy. The production is excellent and the individual performances are first class it's just the messy song-writing that lets this Greek gang down. But I would go as far as saying that if you're a fan of bands such as Cryptopsy then you might find some joy here, because there are some sections of brilliance, but, for this reviewer at least, the band never realised when they were onto a good thing.