Metal Underground.com

Sometimes, an album slips by you like a mist – hazy, confusing, and engulfing. This is definitely the case with "Disrepair Part Three – Genesis of a Germ," from Australia’s Mechanical Organic. This is the third release by a band which describes itself as "an eclectic synthesis of hybrid heavy melodic metal shrouded in a progressive conspiratorial veil."

The title of the album alludes to the lyrics, which are a combination of recordings of interviews and sung vocal lines revolving around a medical conspiracy theory – that HIV/AIDS was a synthetic disease created for the purpose of selective population control. If you’re not a fan of preachy bands who have an interest in bringing politics or ideology into their music, this record will do nothing for you, if not musically.

The band spends the entire twenty-five minutes of "Cut Hunter Theory" arguing the case of this theory, even at one point singing, "I conclude that HIV is and was, undoubtedly, not natural, and I leave you to find the cause." The vocals, sung by Eddie Katz, mostly stick to the same six or seven notes in a very limited range, and his pitch is shaky at best. Nevertheless, the result is eerily creepy in a good way in the context of the music.

The music is anchored by a drum machine and sounds influenced by the likes of Ozric Tentacles, early Porcupine Tree, and other similarly psychedelic adventurers out to make a total mess of the listener’s mind. There are several discernible musical passages within the song, usually signaled by changes in drum patterns and bass lines. The bass, performed by Evan Harris, provides a bit of constancy to the music, making the song structured rather than just a free-for-all instrumental jam.

The guitars, played by Connie D, are all over the place and heavily effected. They mostly consist of distorted lead guitar solos drenched in reverb, occasionally shifting wildly from your left speaker to your right speaker and back again. Connie D’s guitar lines are sufficiently technical and are played with feeling, but it’s anybody’s guess as to if these guitar parts were actually planned out or not. For the most part, it sounds like somebody wanking their guitar at a Guitar Center.

Occasionally, bits of structure will come about and some tablas (eastern percussion) will come into the mix and the drums will lock into an instrumental section with the other instruments. In all fairness, the album is probably a great listen if you’re blitzed out of your mind, but the cryptic interview clippings and the vocal delivery of the lyrics make the experience almost laughable to a sober mind. That being said, the album has a passable mix to it and the whole experience of the song does what it aims to do: shakes you up.