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MECHANIC TYRANTS
Meanhattan EP

Cerveza Blanca (2022)
Rating: 8/10

Florian Fait (vocals and guitar), Jakob Struve (guitar), Danny Keck (bass) and Orlando Mack (drums) make up German act Mechanic Tyrants and this four-track EP is their debut offering.

Musically, this harkens back to the early days of Metallica and Megadeth, a speeding, New Wave Of British Heavy Metal-styled fury coated in rust, propelled by youthful aggression and charming in its naivety. After all, the cover of Kansas ‘Carry On Wayward Son’ is a strange little warble if ever there was one, but like the rest of this project it’s doused in an uncontrollable fire whereby the flames lap at every part of the body and the only way to avoid being scorched is to headbang your way out of it.

Opener ‘Denied’ is a straight-up flurry of greasy metal plucked straight from Megadeth’s classic 1985 debut Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good!. The wailing solos, the snarling bass, the rattling percussion and the sneering, yet almost tuneless vocal howls add extra belligerence and it’s hard not to throw beer cans at the wall and put your foot through the television.

Meanhattan is an EP bristling with teenage angst. ‘Granada’ spouts further hot licks bordering on thrashing tirades. So hats off to the steely drive of drummer Orlando Mack who is clearly well-lubed for this performance, but new arms are surely in order for the next release because this guy ramps it up all hell for leather in tandem with the scurry bass of Danny Keck.

The infectious nature of this rusty mess is sure to latch itself onto the listener like a metallic leech thirsting for blood because while there’s a heap of band’s aping this style, it’s strange how a relatively unknown German act has perfected the art of taking those early 80s assaults and making it their own, and I’m sure that as a live show it would make for quite a spectacle.

The title track begins with an interesting organ-type of tranquillity. And then there’s the explosion, the combo opting for the grandiose which is exhibited like a 70s doom rock extravaganza, totally unexpected, as the band brings in stadium rock aesthetics before a chiming bell and eerie wind nods to classic Black Sabbath.

Florian Fait still struggles with his pipes, but it adds a rawness as the band resorts to a gloomy blues detail. Jakob Struve’s axe work just strikes the bell like a hammer, everything unravelling as a deeply soulful and nostalgic drone as the waft of dirty rain fills the nostrils. It is classic rock with flashes of proto-doom; an organic marrying of styles resulting in unpredictable spurts of brilliance alongside a somehow unprofessional grit.

Meanhattan is one of 2022’s biggest surprises and takes me back to those halcyon days when thrash was just beginning to hatch. I’m unsure how Mechanic Tyrants have done it. Fluke? Who knows, but if you want authentic, speedy rock n’ roll how it used to be, then put this one on the shopping list.

Neil Arnold

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