UMUR "Human Engine" is the debut full-length studio album by Spanish extreme metal act Vórtice. The album was released through Holy Cobra Society Records in January 2008. Vórtice are from Barcelona, Catalonia and was formed in 2004.

Stylistically the band play a technical groove oriented metal style, which takes it´s cues from the Meshuggah school of playing, but ultimately is much simpler in execution. The vocal style is aggressive and deep yet not growling, the guitar riffs are crushingly heavy and tecnically complex, and the drumming is skillfully performed. All in all a very well playing band.

The 10 tracks on the 48:48 minutes long album are of a good quality. Well written material that reveals itself to be a bit more varied than what is suggested upon initial listens. A track like "Schemes of Reality" features sludgy elements and the great closing title track features some well played and tasteful percussion. The album is relatively well produced too and upon conclusion "Human Engine" is a pretty decent album by Vórtice. It suffers a bit from the lack of an original sound, and that´s definitely what the band should work on for future releases, but other than that "Human Engine" is a good quality album deserving a 3.5 star (70%) rating.

Conor Fynes 'Zombie' - Vortice (6/10)

In my review of their first album, 'Human Engine', I noted that while Spanish math metal band Vortice was quite good at what they do, there was a lack of originality in their sound that obscured the quality of their otherwise powerful grooves and rhythmic ventures. The band whom Vortice ripped much of their sound from is Meshuggah, and while it is true that many bands have been inspired by Meshuggah to make likeminded music (binding themselves under the style label of 'djent' nowadays), Vortice didn't really add much to the formula of Meshuggah, instead seeming almost like they were intentionally replicating a sound that was not theirs. I therefore went into their second album 'Zombie' with the hopes that they would at least bring something a little different or even unique on their second time around. Sadly, 'Zombie' sees Vortice doing the exact same thing they did on 'Human Engine', and I would dismiss the album completely if it weren't for the admittedly excellent musicianship and killer grooves that the band plays here.

Vortice generally consists of heavy palm-muted riffs that repeat in order to get a steady rhythm going, lulling the listener into a sync of sorts which their deep rhythms and harsh, yet clear sound. The formula is one that Meshuggah pioneered and practically perfected, so there is nothing new to mine, or any math metaller's ears when hearing this. Even their singer has an angry shout that could pass for Meshuggah vocalist Jens Kidman any day. While I will never understand why an artist would want to merely copy another band's sound, Vortice indeed do it very well. There are not many melodies or 'pretty' sounding things here, but I found myself banging my head quite a few times as the album went on. Vortice have a really effective way of building up their rhythms, and while I cannot say much for these songs being memorable on their own, the whole of 'Zombie' paints a powerful experience of heaviness, intelligently calculated use of time signatures, and riffs that are great for leaving the ears ringing.

I cannot say that I am a fan of Vortice for the simple fact that they do not bring anything new to the table that other bands (or another band, in this case) haven't already done better before, but for what it is, it is a good piece of math metal that I could confidently recommend to someone who likes the style more than me.