MECHANICAL ORGANIC – Flat Earth Society

Mechanical Organic is a three piece band from Australia, which is on the Metal map mainly because of AC/DC and Rose Tattoo. But, the music of these guys could not be further from those figureheads of Down Under Metal than Flat Earth Society. Mechanical Organic’s music does come from the mind, not from the guts, but that is not a negative statement. As much could be said about Metal landmarks like Dream Theater or Watchtower and many others. It makes them not less valuable, and that is true also for Mech Org, as they call themselves.

Predominantly Progressive in nature, strong Electronic and Industrial influences make Flat Earth Society a challenging and very unique 77 minutes of listening. Be reminded -– this is an independently produced album, formerly known as a demo, but these Australians have something to say. That is true as much when it comes to the length of the album as it is for their lyrics. They describe their writing process on their Web page. It makes an interesting read, the essence is that they developed the lyrics in a very early stage of the writing process, and then tried to have the message reflected directly in the music. When you take into consideration that the topics are internet domination, political deceptions, human race’s origin, and the overall F.U.B.A.R. state the world is in, it will come as no surprise that this is no easy listening. Mech Org need you to pay attention, and the first few spins of the album are very demanding. But, if you take the time and dive open mindedly into the sound of Flat Earth Society, you will find interesting and original aspects that set them apart from the “ordinary” Metal bands.

The long tracks have a few things in common: First, the driving, but always monotonous rhythm, which sounds very artificial. They almost sound like a drum computer was used, which is unlikely as one of the three musicians is credited for drums and percussion only. Also, the choir-like multilayered vocals sound distanced, ethereal, sometimes even hypnotical (“To Bridge The Void”) — staying the same throughout the whole album. The vocals make all songs a bit alike on first glance, especially as the guitar is mixed too far into the background, but that is a minor point of criticism for a self-produced recording.

Musically, a few songs stick out positively because they deviate from the norm, either by their melodic choruses like “What Have We Become” or “Username & Password,” the relaxed vibe of “To Bridge The Void,” Oriental-sounding parts in “Nothing Is Real,” or the 70’s meet 80’s Depeche Mode reminiscence “Stealth.”

Unfortunately, the last track “This They Must Never Know” has to be mentioned as it is a ten-minute monologue about an alien plan for mankind (this is a very condensed abbreviation of it, but this thing just defies description). Nice idea, and cleverly put at the very end of the album, as one finds himself stopping the disk before this track begins far too often as it becomes boring after the first sensation wears off. Musically, it just has not much to offer, but that probably never was the plan in the first place.

Mechanical Organic make music for the Progressive fan who can stand Electronica and Samples, or for the Electro-fan who can take an intellectual approach to music. The best bands for reference are the following (please feel free to add bands in the comment section to help me describe the music if you’d like): Kong, Sonic Pulsar, Witt, Depeche Mode (seriously – just a heavy, intellectual version). Better yet, go to their Web page and listen to the mp3 samples provided!