Mankind Is Obsolete, 2009. Photo by Dan Santoni
Reviews
DJ Deathwish
I first came across Mankind is Obsolete when I booked them to play a club I was working at. I bought their first two CDs to properly promote the show, but I had a problem, I could not bring myself to take Rise out of my CD player! I drove around for two months straight with that CD blaring, and never grew tired of it. This is easily one of the greatest entries into the industrial rock genre ever produced. Needless to say, by the time the show came around, I was very familiar with their songs, and quite simply put, it was the best concert I had ever attended. Amazing live, amazing in the studio, and just all around great people. This band has extreme talent and are definitely ones to watch out for, and Rise is a CD that will not soon be forgotten. I'll put it like this: Rise is an amazing album from start to finish, and you just wish it would never end.
Alterati.com
I just received Trapped Inside premasters from Scott Landes, a past musical collaborator and bandmate. He’s been in the studio this summer with Mankind Is Obsolete in Weed, California (I kid you not), working under the guiding hand of Sylvia Massy. (You may recognize her the producer of TOOL’s seminal albums, Opiate and Undertow, though that’s far from her only work). I’m more than happy to be able to share some of this music with you, hot off the presses, before they hit the road for a massive twelve month tour. I also managed to put some questions to the band about where they’ve been, and where they’re going.
Mankind Is Obsolete successfully blends the disparate elements of electronic and “analog” music (that is, played by humans, not machines) with the driving energy of live rock and roll. Unlike many of the fusion attempts I’ve heard in this vein (Linkin Park and Evanescence come to mind), in this case, it doesn’t strike me as contrived. I imagine that this is precisely the music that resulted when these people sat down and played their hearts out together. It is often both tender and raw, at the same time showing the potential for great progression as they continue to mature as a band.
Musically, we can’t help but wear our influences on our sleeves, and I’m not about to claim that the efforts of plenty of other similar acts don’t resonate throughout their music, however this group nevertheless managed to pull off something incredibly difficult in this day and age:
They created marketable, polished material that’s poppy enough to get radio play but which retains a soul that most Elektro-Rock 2.0 bands seem to have completely lost sight of. This band isn’t the result of a focus group in a board room, and it’s really just good on them that what they produced has a real potential to find a big audience if that’s what’s in the cards. They are doing everything independently, and proving that just because something is DIY doesn’t mean it has to be slap-shod.
The way "Nu" / "goth" Metal evolved like some sort of horrific fungus out of Kurt Cobain’s corpse, I was certain the rock and roll “dream” might just be dead. It all smelled of business plans and formaldehyde.
So, some people might put this group in that box, but I’m not catching that scent. There is no formula, there is no bottom line here aside from making the music you love, and touring around the country, hammering it out until you have to crawl into a dark hole somewhere (often referred to as “a studio”) and do it all over again.
Maybe "the dream" isn’t dead after all.
Alternative Explosion Review
Mankind is Obsolete's (also known as MKIO) new album, Trapped Inside is by far the LA based band’s finest work to date. I initially expected the album to be similar to their last album Rise, but after a the first listen it was very clearly a different beast all together. MKIO has once again redefined their sound, providing the listener with a very dynamic and intricate work of art.
The production of the album is the best sounding I’ve heard from the band. Rise had a raw sound to it that I really liked, but in comparison, Trapped Inside is an ultra clean, well defined disc that blows the band’s earlier work out of the water. MKIO redefines their sound from track to track, which is refreshing in an industry of albums with a single sound, track to track from beginning to end. The album is also well put together in terms of the track order, which keeps you interested throughout. I should also note that everything about the presentation of the disc is great as well, with awesome packaging including original artwork.
Notable songs from the disc include Standing at the Edge, Lies, and Picking at the Scab. Standing at the Edge is my favorite track from the album by far. It has a great hook to it, and the guitar has a great rhythm that really caught my attention. The bridge of the song takes it in a completely different direction with a cool electronic beat and arrangement. Lies and Picking at the Scab are just great tracks with awesome vocal performances from Natasha Cox. This album just doesn’t have a single weak song on it, so I highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself!
When it all comes down to it, Mankind is Obsolete has really impressed me with Trapped Inside. It’s great to see a band that’s constantly growing musically. I’m definitely looking forward to hearing more from the band in the future!
Mankind is Obsolete is a great act to catch live as well… At the time of the writing of this article, they are currently on a yearlong North American tour.
Streamofconsciousness.net Review of Rise
Revolutions of synth restrain pacing electronics—tension before a relaxing, almost casual delivery of the first of many cursed verses. Drums sputter and ignite an aggressive guitar riff before colliding with now fuming vocals. The chorus radiates the residual heat and cools before the process recycles itself, melding together the different elements, while adding subtle variations with general fluidity. The standout single, “Still Right Here” introduces Rise in a cycle of transitions from contrast to confrontation to ultimate cohesion with enough coarse texture in the final assailing…and know that I am still right here!... that it’s believable. Rise is not a perfect progression, subtle as often as sweeping, requiring listeners to lend both ears.
The straightforward sing/scream approach with a simple, pervasive rhythm in “Someone Like You” acts as a breakdown of sorts before building around the sung vocals in “She.” Guitars chafe the surface with a simple melody that eventually halts while the vocals oscillate peacefully around a quiet electronic rhythm. As the vocal foundation collapses, the guitar melody returns and a single guitar separates in opposition before reflecting the vocal melody as it resurfaces. The delayed movement of relatively simple instrumentation toward the range of previously established vocals sets up the coalescence of elements in the album’s second focal point, “In This Ocean.”
Foregoing scratchy guitar riff introductions, “In This Ocean” lulls listeners with a tightened beat that fluctuates between somewhat moderate and speedy before fusing with the prettiest vocal layers on the album. Guitars accentuate the rhythm early and have a smoother texture in the chorus, where all the elements merge and move the song and album forward. In four minutes “In This Ocean” cycles through a vast expanse of emotion from clarity to anxiety to hope to despair before seamlessly drifting into the brief and peaceful title track.
On the surface, “Everyday” and “Puppet” abrade where the previous series of tracks soothe, diverging into heavy guitars and angry political sentiments that may seem a little jarring, but encompass the entire concept of Rise. The former has an overall heaviness about it with a brief anti-breakdown (a fix-up?) that shifts back into the rhythm and vocal style of previous tracks. The latter has more of a traditional give-and-take, scream/sing, heavy guitar vs. convoluted synth sound in what becomes the perfect placement of contrast on Rise.
Perhaps one of the simplest songs musically, “More Than What I Am” rests on more of a lyrical foundation, linking the struggle of writing with the basic struggle of life to begin the album’s experimental home-stretch.
With incredible attention to craft two songs stand out with their simple attention to craft. The broken vocal layers of “Beyond” converge with the chorus over a background of solid rhythm and smooth guitars, giving a serene feel (albeit with some disturbing lyrics) that stretches into “Smile in the Dark,” which seems to rise, but completely unravels before the final track.
"Prayer" is somewhat of an epilogue, adopting a piano and vocal style in contrast to the rest of the album. Rise may leave listeners wondering what exactly it is to rise. In general the tone seems like more of a repetition of the abysmal plunge with some brief moments of clarity rather than an epiphany, but listeners can’t help but feel like they have gained something. The deviation from the manner and degree of elevation expected from the first track makes the concept real and fascinating.
Grave Concerns E-Zine
I had the pleasure of seeing Mankind is Obsolete live recently, so this review is going to be colored by seeing a really strong band play a really strong set. MKIO has been around since 2002, and has built a solid lineup, and rightfully touts itself as one of the hardest-working DIY bands on the circuit. They have the sheen of a band that’s been writing and playing together for some time. They tour relentlessly, and the work-ethic that makes this band such a fun band to see live comes across with no less clarity on a studio album. MKIO writes sincerely crafted pop-songs in and anthemic industrial rock vein: mixing ethereal electronoica with a indie/psychedelic rock guitar vibe. Guitarist Scott Landes is really pretty impressive on the album. You will hear things on this album you don’t often hear on an industrial album.
In an era where industrial music has traded sincere musicianship for predictable programming, this album is refreshing. MKIO is a band that’s more than just one member: the whole band shares the spotlight on the album. Singer Natasha’s voice is alternately haunting, plaintive and then menacing. It’s a combination that’s rich in contradictions, but it fits, and most importantly, it makes for an impressive album. “Awake” is a nice opener to the album, upbeat, with a driving chorus, and ends in a lovely piano interlude. “Picking the Scab” is an even better song. There’s a punkish snarl to the whole song, Landes drenches the song in feedback and drummer Jon Siren answers with great aggressive drumming. In contrast, “Trouble Dreams” opens almost like a Depeche Mode song, and then goes on to creates a lush sound-scape, pulling the listener into a hypnotic trance. Then, “Trapped Inside” pulls a bit from the Iron Maiden catalogue, with pounding drums and a harmonized guitar-line, this is a band that has some remarkable versatility.
As a whole, the album has a very rich sound; it’s very organic for electronic music. No single member of the band is responsible for this: this is the sound of a group of musicians working really well together. There’s a level of maturity and musical experimentation on the album that isn’t necessarily fashionable; nonetheless, it would be a shame to overlook MKIO just because there music doesn’t translate to dance-floor notoriety. It’s a very sincere album, and one, sincerely, you ought to listen to.
