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Mendeed: Shadows. War. Love.
30/03/09 || The Duff
Mendeed were fortunate enough to have me review their latest compilation CD, “Positive Metal Attitude”; here I am now reviewing yet another compilation, a “best of”. Although I’m not dancing for joy, these guys really aren’t so bad, the band consisting of some very gifted musicians, and if it weren’t for the screamo vocalist, well, I’m sure I could enjoy them a whole lot more.
I always figured that Mendeed hadn’t been presented to me in the most flattering of ways with their 2008 rare demo/live track/B-side conglomeration, and that I would have more luck chasing up something like “The Dead Live By Love” if I wanted to experience something worthy from these Scots – I seem to remember said album being well received if only in judging the number of places I saw the album being publicized. Well, seeing as I have much better things to do than chasing up on what I consider to be a mediocre band for the sake of being proven wrong, this “best of” should be the second chance I’ve nonetheless been meaning to warrant them, as Mendeed are without a doubt the best Rising Records has to offer. Yes, I mean this so immeasurably sincerely.
So I’m guessing these have chiefly been lifted from albums “This War Will Last Forever”, “The Dead Live By Love” and the one E.P. on Rising, “From Shadows Came Darkness” (hence the real craftily construed album title that would suggest a mental obstruction of sorts were it pronounced as is); shame there’s nothing from the self-released era (from a fan’s perspective, fuckos), as anyone who’s followed the band since its signing to Rising will have nothing to benefit from in buying this – nope, not even the revisiting of track “Bullshit Theory” which rings “crowd-pleaser” and “chant-a-chorus” to these ears. I think also the record label should have assembled the tracks in order of their appearance in the band’s career, ‘cos the songs here aren’t the most discernible – I reckon it woulda been a better move to separate the different eras of the band so as to accommodate listeners trying to get a taste before making a purchase; for fans, this release is made instantly redundant, for newcomers like myself who need a reason to persist if things don’t hit off immediately, quite frustrating, as the standard of the music throughout the disc fluctuates relative to the production, and I don’t have the inclination to grow accustomed to the material, but can’t really skip from one era of the band to the next knowing what period I’m going to land in, the better funded recordings usually meaning an improvement in enjoyment yet difficult to track down unless I’m willing to go an-Internet-searching.
The music has been described as metalcore by some, as melodic death by others – thankfully, neither tag is due to a forgiving nature or a head firmly planted betwixt the ass-cheeks of the opinionator (although I would suggest you avoid words like “Scottish metalcore that packs such a punch it knocks you down” – Rockbeat), and considering I can enjoy the best of both sub-genres (Lamb of God and In Flames, respectively, suckas), the fact that I can stomach most of this speaks volumes when discussing a band that doesn’t really do metal any justice, just kinda plays nothing but to its influences in an uninspired manner.
Mendeed are sleek, probably more accessible than a band like Trivium, but thankfully the musicianship, as with Trivium, isn’t half-bad and so I can be critical without wanting to hollow-out my testicles with a rusty spoon – I doubt any metal fan would suffer much duress listening to this playing in the background, but long-term exposure could cause pain – unless I’m in an American POW whilst having women’s underwear draped over my face, circumstances under which I could embrace the music for unknowingly vast periods of time, I shan’t be traveling back to this gritless band any time in the future.
Flashy leads, chugga-chugga, varying productions, all of it isn’t so bad, but as with “Positive Metal Attitude”, the vocals really ruin this for me (screamo combined with emoshit), the band’s single element I truly abhor – sure, the music has no balls, but I can’t deny that Mendeed know how to play to a high standard, their heads are just in the wrong place for my liking.
5 second chances with unsurprising results out of 10.
- Information
- Released: 2008
- Label: Rising Records
- Website: Mendeed MySpace
- Band
- Dave Proctor: vocals
- Steve Nixon: guitars
- Steph Gildea: guitars
- Chris Lavery: bass, vocals
- Kevin Matthews: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Ignite the flames
- 02. Act of sorrow
- 03. Fatal poison whisper
- 04. Glory be thy name
- 05. The reaper waits
- 06. Beneath a burning sky
- 07. Stand as one, fight for glory
- 08. Remains of the day
- 09. Burning fear
- 10. The dead live by love
- 11. Take me as I am
- 12. It’s not over yet
