So what do you get when you combine aspects of Meshuggah, Fear Factory, and Strapping Young Lad? If you said Raunchy, you'd be right. If you said Mnemic, you'd still be right, but you probably should've said Raunchy to avoid looking stupid.  The Audio Injected Soul is a rhythmic album, relying on its heavy production values, yet isn't as industrial influenced as some of the aforementioned bands. It's "hybrid metal" apparently, with sort of a Soilwork rasp and a Burton C. Bell method of clean singing, it's really easy to just sort of...well, see how Mnemic really sounds like the two bands. Maybe not with the same anthemic choruses or technical ability, but there's a remarkable similarity. It pains me to say this, as I really admire bands who aren't afraid to use clean singing, but the vocals are almost smothering and overdone; really overprocessed and layered. It takes away from the continuity of the album to be continually shifting from somewhat tough and mechanical riffs and gang-shouted vocals, all the way over to these synth-laden, epic choruses.

I'm thinking it's just a change in production which makes the music go down like a bottle of cherry flavored Tussin. Smooth, yet unenjoyable - ultimately leaving you tired. Sort of in the same way a band like Scarve seems to fail. These aren't bad bands, but they're just doing something wrong. Musically, there isn't a lot of deviation from their previous effort, Mechanical Spin Phenomenon; they've succeeded in that sense. It's ear-pleasing, but totally devoid of substance. But don't get me wrong, here. Mnemic are a talented group, they're just not excellent songwriters. I've never been one to knock a band purely because it's easy to digest - ask anyone here, I'll defend some real wretched shit. But Mnemic? I'm not sure I can get behind this one. Unless it was sexually speaking. There's some really solid verses, but things sound out of place this time around. Maybe my tastes have changed, or maybe I just didn't give the first album a good enough listen.

What's more than likely happened is that the small things I found annoying about their first release, but tolerable, were amplified this time around. Mnemic's simply become more Mnemic. Can I blame them? No, I can't. I'm not going to listen to it, though. All things considered, I'll say that if you're a fan of their first album or bands like Raunchy, Fear Factory's latest release, or you really like Soilwork's cheesy choruses, you might do well to pick up The Audio Injected Soul.