MNEMIC may very well be the best bloody band you've "never heard of"; much like most other Danish bands that aren't KING DIAMOND. With a selection of class A acts like INVOCATOR, ANUBIS GATE, RAUNCHY and MERCENARY to choose from, I suppose I could expect the country to produce yet another incredible, criminally-underrated band. Apparently one I have never heard of either, until now.

I begin my journey with experiencing their debut album, "Mechanical Spin Phenomena", which arrived in 2003. The Aalborg lads already had the sound they forever wanted set in stone with this album, it seems, for it founded their roots firmly in the grounds of Industrial, Groovy, classic Metalcore-infused tunes, with a little Thrash thrown in... In other words, if MNEMIC and late INVOCATOR had a lovechild.. A child that would grow up to be prodigy. Incidentally, the band's first album featured an INVOCATOR drummer, Brian Rasmussen, in its recording.

"Liquid" begins the album with a sufficiently-technical series of heavily-syncopated grooves. I feel like I'm stuck right in the middle of the thick, chunky mud of the riffs that populated "Through The Flesh To The Soul". Nay, MNEMIC most certainly did not copy INVOCATOR; the fact that they simply remind me of them is reason enough for me to be thrilled with this album... Even one track in. However, the band clearly loves their atmospherics, because this track, like the majority of the album, is full of them; industrial, goofy, alien goodness. The reflectional vibes most certainly carried on through tracks like "Blood Stained" and the title track.

To spice things up a bit, aggressive, heavy hitters (though fairly meat-and-potatoes in comparison) like the curiously-titled "Db'xx'd" and "The Naked And The Dead" serve up stupendously-heavy riffage that is sure to dislodge a few necessary vertebrae. "Closed Eyes" tends to allow the Metalcore influences bleed through, with punk-inspired vocals and choruses that would invoke (pun most definitely intentional) modern acts like ARCHITECTS.

It is not often I get to start an introduction to a band with their debut album; in this case, I feel like it is an excellent start to faithful fandom... Only to find out they are still on hiatus after 2 years. Hopefully they soon come to think that enough of enough is enough and record some new material.