Swiss djent/progressive deathcore act Mycelia are new to me, even with 4 albums under their belt, but their quirky take on staggering Meshuggah ish heft and polyrhythmic density has me impressed.

And by quirky I don’t mean annoying Arsonists Get all the Girls synth injections or dance beats, but a love of classic movies and jazz mixing with the expected stuttering, jagged grooves and squeals. The 13 songs cover a lot of ground and will certainly be an acquired taste, especially with the vocals which array of screams growls, and plenty of eclectic clean croons. Look no further than chunky opener and first single/video “Eight Milligrams”, and if that isn’t your cup of tea, don’t bother with the rest of the album.

From there, there’s plenty more djenty lope and lurch as hear on “Lawnmower Man”, “Monolith”,  punishing electronics of “The Hateful Half Dozen”, “Slip Along Jack Mctravis” and “Cromulon”, but  things just get more experimental with a full orchestral bridge in “Nefarious Seeds”,  two weird attempts at a sort of djent ballads in “Once Upon a Lie”, and “Timesick,” a couple of instrumentals in “East of Eden” and “Flak”, which without the vocal eccentricities, do allow the talent and music to shine. The weirdest moment has to be “Holler”, a sort of ode to O, Brother where art thou’s haunting Appalachian siren lullaby “Go to Sleep, Little baby”.  But at 13 songs, things test my patience at little bit around “E.V.A”.

The production from  Joshua Wickman (Oceans Ate Alaska, Within the Ruins, King 810) is familiar for the genre, but has lots of heft and chunk amid the more experimental elements like the synths and other oddities making for a modern djent album that has a little difference to it but retains the stammering stying so of the genre.

[Visit the band's website]

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