This time around MX still mix some of their prior selves with their second effort. Though this is combined with a dirty, yet more bassy production, and the music here definitely got more technical as a whole compared to the last where just the guitars would shine during some areas in this regard. Leaving the drums and bass out to hang and play simplistic, yet still energetic, contributions by comparison. The music on 'Mental Slavery' can throw a lot at you within the confines of a song. Constantly changing itself up with different riffs, drum fills, or a bass that peaks out from the murky, yet loud production. The vocals here are more gruff, almost between a rasp and a mild-growl depending on the particular track. And on occasion the gang shouts of the last are present on selectly highlighted words with a clearer tone. I can see this being something to get used to if you're not accustomed to periodic join-ins because the back-ups are clearer sounding than the leads. And unlike something like Kreator's 'Endless Pain' where both vocalists are distorted. They don't reach blast levels, which you would think would be the next logical step, and in the end I don't feel they need 'em due to things moving enough as it is at the medium-to-bordering-on-fast-beat they center themselves at. On listening to the music on 'Mental Slavery' I've caught myself with a more focused concentration because the song writing is changed up so much within a single song. It flows together and creates tracks that can be listened to multiple times and still have a few parts seem new on the next encounter. This not only has the guitars change and alter the traditional thrash riff, by incorporating different aspects such as an abundance of fills per measure or strangely placed notes creating their own timing structures. This also has a bass guitar that gets to add varying rhythms along side the guitars. It isn't constantly going with technical aspects, sometimes simply matching the music while the vocalist takes the lead. There are some bass solos scattered about too with a slightly louder volume, while the guitars instead play the rhythm. The guitars on 'Mental Slavery' have a certain dirtiness to them, covered with some effects and coming out with their own hint of scratchiness. The drums have a certain amount of bass to them, though as loud as they are, they're not as defined surrounded by the effects and barrage of the other instruments. I think it fits the type of music they were going for: creating this hazy projection with an abundance of notes scattered about. As a side note, this is what the production sounds like on the recordings of the original version. The remastered version is discussed later down. The song 'I'll Bring You With Me' is more of a ballad of sorts. This contains an acoustic beginning with the vocalist speaking overtop in a more understandable voice. It breaks into more of a smooth sounding electric solo with some moodiness attached. Then the rest of the track follows more of a medium beat, with more of a distorted tone from the vocalist, and yet another reprisal of the acoustic portion at the end. This is a track that is understandably here to add more variation, though the portion where the vocalist is speaking overtop of the acoustic parts feels unfitting because the tone doesn't seem to match each other. With the guitars playing more of an uplifting melody and the vocalist approaching it with a sort of narrative gloomy technique, which in turn makes this portion of the song potentially skippable. Though, I'm one of those listeners that if the first minute or so of a song doesn't pull me in, it can essentially ruin the rest of its building properties or atmosphere, though here the rest of the track only mildly redeems itself with a return to their more aggressive side. The speedier vocals on 'What Am I' are a throw off too, instead of that little bit of pause he typically uses, and also some of the more repeated chugged riffs and vocal sections seem unfitting as well. Some parts of the song sound like they were simplistically put together compared to the other tracks. On the other hand, 'Ritual of Strings' is an under-a-minute track with layered clean bass on its own and sounds fitting as an instrumental to build up to the last track because it leaves you hanging due to its ominous short length. 'Mental Slavery' is a progression of thrash, with certain dimensions and influences from death. The original version contains a murkier production even compared to the debut 'Simoniacal,' though musically it creates more built-from-scratch versatility in the end. Compared to the original recordings, the remastered tracks of 'Mental Slavery' I have to say sound centered as a whole, since the drums on the original unfortunately were less loud compared to the guitars. It also clears up some of the fuzziness of the guitars. Even though I like the sound of the original guitars more, it is a great asset to be able to hear the drums with more clarity, since he uses an abundance of fills and is an integral part of the album. This even gives clearer light to his double bass pedals, which were more obscured before hand. Repeat listens are enforced, because 'Mental Slavery' can take a few spins to get to every musical note. But for the most part can create a certain atmosphere because of that energetic, fidgety feature, and is worth it to check this out for some individualistic music that MX have seemed to created.
