MECHINA - Bellum Interruptum

Review by Chris Magdalenski

Symphonies That Span Lightyears: A Review Of Bellum Interruptum by MECHINA

A hiss of hydraulics. The buzzing rumble of machinery methodically grinding into place. The leaden thud of steel doors closing, followed by robotic clicks and snaps of industrial locks engaging. The sounds waste no time shifting me into a different headspace — a different world far from this one, both in distance and in time. In the background a voice, direct and dispassionate delivers instructions about prepping for cryo-sleep.

It’s clear I’m about to go on a trip…

Theres’s no denying that Illinois-based symphonic metalers Mechina know how to build worlds with their music. The sci-fi movie opening to the album’s first track, “The World We Saved 2025” sets the stage for what’s to unfold over the next eleven tracks —nothing short of an epic journey across the stars. 

In true space-opera fashion the first two tracks start us off in fearlessly epic fashion, clocking in at 14:55, and 18:06 respectively. Each is a story in themselves, utilizing the same genre enhancing sound effects to create a sense of place and time. But once the music kicks in it becomes clear the band is more than slick storytelling production. Heavy riffs and catchy hooks blend with a bombastic symphonic flair that make for a truly great listening experience. 

Musically, each track is skillfully crafted with the production to match, with vocalist Melissa Rosenberg helping to hold everything together with her powerfully urgent vocals. 

Over the past week I’ve come back to this album again and again, continually impressed by and drawn into the world Mechina has created with Bellum Interruptum. With twelve previous albums under their belt this should be no surprise, and I will be no doubt diving into their back catalog in the days to come. 

I would encourage you all to do the same!

For more MECHINA, visit https://mechinamusic.bandcamp.com/

NOEMI AURORA - Kintsugi

Review by Chris Magdalenski

Black Laced, Sanguine and Sweet: A Review of Kintsugi (Disaster Version)

Like a siren’s call across a boundless ocean of dark hymns, singer Noemi Aurora draws me in with her elegant vocals. Sweet with a breathlessly bitter edge, they weave their way into my ears — each verse casting a spell that entices me to prolong my visit to her sonic realm. 

But this lyrical enchantress is more than just a beautiful voice. With their catchy beats, pulsing baselines and sweeping synths, every track on the album would be at home as the background music to a night out at the goth club. There’s a catchiness to the songwriting that’s undeniable, with songs such as “Dal Giardino Di Algos” and “The Alchemist” being two that I keep coming back to over and over again.

That said, Aurora isn’t afraid to experiment. “Yugen” is atmospheric piece that utilizes many multiple layers of vocals to create a dark yet lush soundscape that is both mysterious and epic. It showcases a somewhat different side of her, one that reaches for a complexity beyond the dance floor or the lounge. Halfway through the album I was already a fan, but it was this song that sealed the deal.

At this point, I have little else to say except that Noemi Aurora is a crafter of the kind of sultry goth songs I could listen to over and over again. I highly recommend giving all her albums a listen.

For more Noemi Aurora: https://noemiaurora.bandcamp.com/

SINA MATIX - Cursed

Review by Chris Magdalenski

I just got the news

You’re in the place I feared

Pushing the words away

That I don’t want to hear

Emotions, Raw and Red.

It’s those foreboding words, accompanied by bouncing synth stabs and adrenaline fueled drum and bass lines that open Sina Matix’s latest release Cursed. Titled “Where Did It Go Wrong”, the first track serves as a signpost, a warning that we are about to embark on a very personal dark electro journey.

Themes of loss, loneliness and despair are on full display throughout the work. Each track offers a richly dramatic soundscape drenched in an unsettled dread. While some tracks utilize forlorn vocals, executed with a soulful listlessness, others forgo those, relying instead on menacing samples of lines from film and television. 

It’s a highly effective technique, further giving the album a darkly unique feel, one that alternates between seething rage and spiraling depression at the drop of a hat. I could feel the raw emotions Sina Matix poured into every track. A true work of an artist grappling with the demons of choices both made and not made. Like all good art, I saw bits of my own existence in Cursed, and I highly recommend giving it a listen yourself.

For more SINA MATIX, visit https://sinamatix.bandcamp.com

LACUNA COIL - Sleepless Empire

Written by Chris Magdalenski

In Praise of Relentless Reliability:

A Review of Sleepless Empire by Lacuna Coil

At this point Lacuna Coil has been around long enough for them to have appeared on and fallen off my musical radar a number of times. That said, having returned to them for their recent release Sleepless Empire I’m forced to ask myself why Milan’s preeminent goth metal band ever fell out of my rotation at all. 

From the hammer-drop opening of the album’s first track, The Siege, everything I love about this band came crashing back into focus. Brutal riffs are the burning soul of each offering — the dark engine that propels the epic song craft and provides a dense foundation for the ever-present push and pull of Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro’s vocals.

For me, it’s this vocal dynamic that has me coming back to Lacuna Coil again and again. The combination of Ferro’s raw rumbling fury playing off of Scabbia’s urgently operatic war cries imbue each song with a whirlwind-like quality — a ride on a pitch black roller coaster of rage to redemption, along with every other emotion in between. Not that this is anything new. It’s a style that’s been happening in metal for quite sometime now, but after a 30 year career I think it’s safe to say there are few bands that do it quite as well.

Rediscovering Lacuna once again has me going back through some of the albums I’ve missed, more than happy to bring this band back into the soundtrack of my life. And for those of you who never strayed from the Cult Of The Coil… 

I know… I know… What took me so long?

For more Lacuna Coil, visit their Bandcamp