Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Mit
Label: Self-released
Release: 2011
Length: 37:42
Rating: 4/5
Barely two years have flown by since the release of their debut “Stik”, and now the alternative metal outfit Mit are back with a new studio album. Formed in early 2008, Mit have known from the very start what they want and what they can do, and they go after it with real nerve. They’re one of those new-wave bands on the Slovenian scene driven by an incredible creative force and energy! The lineup is made up of seasoned musicians who spent years honing their chops in various bands before Mit came along. A fresh wind blew through the band when new bassist Matej Žibert joined in the second half of 2009, taking the place of Aaron Cernatič, who was recruited last September by Slovenian metal legends Lene kosti.
So the ideas aren’t running dry! The best thing to do is strike while the iron is hot, and the band knows it! “Asertiv” presents Mit with an upgraded, improved production. That’s the most important shift on the new record, and it lets the band grow artistically in a healthy way. You could say that on their second album the new Mit actually sound “modern alternative” with a metal edge. They’ve managed to pull off what we missed on “Stik”: a contrasting picture in how the building blocks of the sound are laid out. First of all, the backing sound has grown massively. The two guitars build a huge wall of sound that really crushes. The warm, velvety tone of the dynamic bass guitar makes a proper contrast, freely hunting for any space available to slot in extra melodic lines. The rhythmic backbone of drums and bass is outstanding, and it holds the riffs together tightly and keeps everything compact. The riffs sound crushing and thrashy in the production.
Mit are seasoned musicians. Stacking up contrasts is second nature to them. Jumps between moods are nothing new for the band. We often run into a basic duality. The track kicks off in a crushing style with a massive wall of riffs behind it, then when Petrovski comes in on vocals the band switches to quiet chords, but run through effects that freely “thicken” and harmonize the sound, like the “stereo chorus” effect, for example. Then comes the chorus, where an avalanche of riffing suddenly wraps around the vocals as they shift into falsetto, which is why the choruses are explosive, anthemic, pompous! They carry the emotional peaks of the album. The combination of vocals and a massive wall of riffs works brilliantly for pulling off drama theater! Mit don’t overcomplicate things melodically. They go for simple, classically built melody lines that don’t sound revolutionary or unheard-of in any way. But this time they make up for that simplicity with a great production, so even forms that have been chewed over plenty before sound powerfully dynamic, convincing and fresh. This time Mit really have taken a big step forward compared to their very solid studio debut, which held back mostly in its sound production.
Uroš Petrovski has also made a nice step forward in maturing as a vocalist. Above all, his vocals are more expressive compared to the energy of the debut’s songs. He’s taken a more varied approach and shown the listener the delicate side of his natural voice too. That touch comes through well in the spots where Uroš sings without falsetto, in the verses of the acoustic parts of songs like Junak and Pramen dni. Especially in the latter, Uroš’s dual approach works a treat, with his softness lighting up the verse. In certain places the vocals are deliberately run through distortion, which adds a mood swing within the songs.
Mit have also matured in how they dose the arrangements with extra programmed samples, which absolutely fit their sound: modern, alternative, “down tuned” devastation. The track Druga stran, the intro of Musicus, and the instrumental middle section of V imenu noči (where the massiveness of the “down tuned” riffing really shines) are all examples of those programmed samples at work. This time the band has managed to build an excellent link between verse and chorus in the songs. That keeps the songs compact, gives them a common thread, and builds the mood step by step, peaking in the choruses. A catchy chorus, cut simple but melodically tempting all the way, is built into most of the new songs. They’re all on an equal footing in quality and style, so this time it’s up to you to pick the album’s highlights.
The band doesn’t hide its innate love of acoustics either. Whether it’s woven in here and there, like in the atmospheric Parizina, or it forms the foundation of an entire song, as in the excellent Pramen dni, where the song peaks in the outro when a mixed choir joins the lead vocals and paints a vivid harmony over the melodic chorus.
With their new album, Mit have proven they’re a band with real room to grow. “Asertiv” is an upgrade on the debut “Stik”. It brings more mature arrangements, chiseled for a better fit between verse and chorus, and a more effective filling of the available sound spectrum. The devilishly wound-up eruptions of the guitar riff wall sound especially good in the dynamic production, which is what we missed on the debut. The direction is alternative modern metal, filled with melancholy, embodied first and foremost by the tone and vocal approach of Uroš. “Asertiv” also moves up a notch from the debut in how intensely the verses hit. You can tell the band has found stability in its lineup and that the members are on the same wavelength, and all of that is reflected in the quality of the new studio release, which cements the band’s status as a distinctive voice, both in sound and style, on the Slovenian rock horizon.
Lineup
Uroš Petkovski – vocals, acoustic guitar
Matevž Pavčnik – guitar
Miha Oman – guitar
Matej Žibert – bass guitar
Miha Plesničar – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Matej Zalar – backing vocals
Žiga Pirnat – piano
Gašper Srečnik – percussion
CHOIR:
Matjaž Zadravec
Nikolina Cindrič
Tjaša Lenarčič
Ana Erčulj
Toni Rajk
MAtej Primožič
Primož Leskovec
Production
Željko Mladenovič
Track list
1. Hipnotik
2. Druga stran
3. Parizina
4. Medij
5. Junak
6. Musicus
7. V imenu noči
8. Pramen dni
9. Pol
10. Rune
