MEMFIS

Stylistically Memfis continue to play a progressive post-hardcore/metalcore style, with both nods toward artists like Burst, Mastodon, Gojira, and Metallica, as well nods toward 70s progressive rock. They operate in a musical area which isn´t just described with a single genre tag. So, "Imperium" is for the musically adventurous listener. Those who enjoy their music dynamic and featuring both heavy aggressive parts and mellow/atmospheric progressive rock parts presented within reasonably assessible song structures. Memfis have been building towards this sound throughout their discography and "Imperium" is the culmination of that development.

"Imperium" features a well sounding, powerful, and detailed production, which suits the material well. The band are well playing too and the vocal part of the sound is pretty varied, ranging from aggressive hardcore screaming, to semi-death metal growling, to clean vocals (all male). Memfis have included a session saxophone player to a couple of tracks, which is quite effectful and adds even more variation to their already eclectic sound (which in addition to vocals, guitar, bass, and drums also features synths, piano, and mellotron). "Imperium" is upon conclusion a high quality release from Memfis and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Stylistically the material on the 5 tracks, 18:08 minutes long EP is a type of progressve post-hardcore/metalcore with the occasional more heavy and brutal sludge/death metal oriented moment put in. The aggessive hardcore shouted vocals of the preceding albums have become a bit more melodic yet still raw shouting, and as described above with the occasional excursion into rawer and more brutal territories (although they are few and far between). The music is atmospheric and beautiful but also raw and hard hitting when that is called for.

The EP features a well sounding production job, and since both the musicianship and the songwriting are also on high levels "Silva" is a good quality release and a worthwhile release if you enjoyed the two previous releases by Memfis. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Just as the case was on "The Wind-Up", Memfis play a pretty eclectic type of hardcore/metal on "Vertigo". Post-hardcore, metalcore, technical death/sludge (not completely unlike listening to early Mastodon), and progressive metal songwriting coplexity are some of the ingredients of the band´s sound. Contemporary Swedish act Burst is the most valid reference to my ears, but Memfis as described take influences from a lot of different sources. The vocals are predominantly aggressive hardcore shouting/screaming, but the album also features clean vocal sections. The musicianship is on a high level on all posts and it´s audible that Memfis is a well playing and skilled unit.

The diversity of the output and the intriguing songwriting, which make the music a bit difficult to properly describe, are great assets of "Vertigo" and keep the listener on his/her toes for the duration of the album. The unpredictability within otherwise relatively regular length songs is not the least bit confusing though, as Memfis seamlessly weave all the elements together into a cohesive musical style. Featuring a professional, powerful, and detailed sound production that part of the album is also an asset. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).

Stylistically the material on "The Wind-Up" is a quite interesting combination of progressive post-hardcore (Burst, early-The Ocean Collective...etc.), progressive metal, and melodic/progressive death metal (Opeth is an influence here). Lead vocalist/guitarist Mattias Engström has a raw voice and delivers both brutal screaming hardcore influenced vocals and semi-growling (the are a few clean vocal parts on the album delivered by guitarist Johan Boqvist). The music is generally very dynamic and changes from beautiful melodic parts to more brutal agressive parts in varied tempi. Epic melodies, guitar harmonies, and mellow sections are contrasted by aggressive and brutal parts. It´s all delivered by a skilled band, who also understand the dynamics of writing a memorable and intriguing song.

"The Wind-Up" is well produced, featuring a powerful, clear, and detailed sound production, which features just the right amount of organit grit to not sound sterile and polished. Upon conclusion "The Wind-Up" is a good quality debut album from Memfis, and they deserve more attention than they got with this release. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives).