| I received two re-issue's from Rising Records regarding the Scottish band Mendeed. Before Mendeed signed with Nuclear Blast, they made records for Rising Records. When they released their first album for Nuclear Blast in 2006 they were received as an OK band, but when the follow up came out in 2007 they were hailed as a big promise and the future of metal. Too bad the band disbanded not much later, after a fight with their management.
One of those two re-issue's is "Positive Metal Attitude". Originally released in 2006 and re-issued 2 years later. My review of their previous record "From Shadows Came Darkness" wasn't that good. I rated it with a 4 out of 10. This effort however is a bit better and their musical growth is set in motion. Less trying to find their sound, but more chemistry. The aggressiveness is starting to make way for solid song material. Still the vocals are far from up to par to the rest of the band. The production isn't that great either and that might be an understatement. The artwork was OK for "From Shadows Came Darkness", but it's very ugly and even cheeky for this CD. Not too mention the cliché song titles. On to the more positive side of this release. The big improvement compared to "From Shadows Came Darkness" is the structure of the songs. Instead of just raw no-holds-barred screamo like thrash metal (metal core anyone?), we actually get some more subtle passages. This gives you the feeling you are listening to a band that actually is trying to be creative.
The question I also have with this release is: why did Rising Records release this? It's totally not relevant. It might be for collectors or for fans that the band once had, but then again, why would you buy a re-issue this bad? I mean... where are the extra's to brighten up this re-issue? Liner notes, bonus tracks, anything! If you don't have this record yet and you want to know what Mendeed once sounded like, be my guest. If you're low on cash; Please spend your money on something you might actually enjoy. |
