EP Review: Stengah – Downward Mechanic (Mascot Records)

One year since the release of their debut album ‘Soma Sema’, French metallers, Stengah return with the ‘Downward Mechanic’ EP. The EP serves as an extension of ‘Soma Sema’, as the songs were written during the same sessions. It will be released via Mascot Records on December, 1st, 2023.

A year is a long time in music, so it’s great to see Stengah returning to the well that drew so much refreshment with the debut album. Downward Mechanic is a continuation of Soma Sema, and that should please just about everyone.

Beginning in feral fashion with The Earth Awakes, Stengah’s brutalising sound is immensely effective, and heads will be banging hard with this. Yet, for all its blistering intensity, it has a groove that just sits so right in the brain matter.

It is just one of the quality heavy beasts to enjoy here, as Reign of an Apocryph goes even harder, finding Stengah in an epic mood with vocals that makes you sit up and seriously pay attention. The cacophony of instruments, featuring progressive flashes, is the stuff heavy dreams are made of.

A short, sweet and melodious intermission called Resurface (September’s Gone) splits the EP in half, before Stengah dig down deeply for one of their most overwhelming efforts with Sheltered Within. Although, as good as this wicked monstrosity is, it pales in comparison to what came before, and what follows.

Which just so happens to be the longest and most elaborate effort of all, Inner Space. A track with hearty moments of melody but fixated on being ruthlessly heavy, for the most part. When Stengah hit, they hit with so much force, it will rattle the brain. That it has more complexities, a varied rhythmic approach, and a bit more experimentation, just makes it the cherry on top.

It’s more than just a ‘stop-gap’ EP, happily. Stengah haven’t found some dregs and decided to just throw them out, each of these tracks can stand proudly alongside the tracks from Soma Sema.

Stengah – Downward Mechanic Track Listing:

1. The Earth Awakes
2. Reign of An Apocryph
3. Resurface (September’s Gone)
4. Sheltered Within
5. Inner Space

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