Thursday, May 29, 2008

Machinae Supremacy- Fury Review

Album Overview

Well, the best way to start this review is to announce that Machinae Supremacy is one of my favorite bands ever. I was first introduced to them a year or two ago, while surfing the internet, and since I have seeded them about like a metallic plague, spreading their music to all of my friends. They play alternative metal with varied techno influences, primarily from their use of a SID station (Sound Interface Device) in their songs. They call this blend “SID Metal”, which is an apt and self-explanatory title. I personally believe that some of their songs incorporate power metal themes, of which I am a huge fan, but they aren’t “officially” recognized as such a band. Regardless, their uplifting and headbanging music has touched my heart, and I urge you to go and listen to this album, which is some of their best music up for free download on their website. That’s right, free download. www.machinaesupremacy.com.

Go on, take a listen. The review will still be here when you get back.

1. Bouff

Machinae supremacy starts the album off with a high-energy instrumental which immediately draws attention to both their strong metal and their SID sampling. While slightly repetitive, it’s a short and fun blast of energy to get you into a good mood to enjoy the rest of the album. A solid song.

Soundtrack to the Rebellion

Unlike the previous instrumental, Soundtrack to the Rebellion includes the vocals of singer Robert Stjärnström. He has a very unique voice, which I personally enjoy quite a bit. Some may disagree, but I think it fits with the band’s unique sound. The song is pretty good, but not spectacular. True, it is very good, but it just didn’t immediately grab me or shake me like some of the other tracks.

Legion of Stoopid

This was one of the first songs I had ever heard by Machinae Supremacy. Its fun and a little silly, but I personally find the sound a bit discordant and difficult to listen to. I blame this on the drums crashing a bit too often, which I dislike. The guitar solo towards the end almost makes the entire song worth it, but I find that the drums detract from much of the music here. Nothing personal against their drummer; he’s very good and definitely nails his part in the rest of their songs. I just dislike the way the drums were written in this particular track.

Multiball

I agree with Phelpsie’s thoughts that the beginning of the song has a “military” feel. The rest of the song becomes a nice instrumental, which I find to be a little subdued and uninteresting compared to the rest of their songs. Maybe that’s a bad word choice for the song, but it was a bit underwhelming for me. For a short spot in the middle of the song they bring on the chugging guitar that you may know from such thrash that Phelpsie referenced in his review. I don’t feel as though it works with the rest of the piece, however, and I think they could have replaced it with the much more interesting riffs of the rest of the track. The length was also an issue for me. It feels like the song should end somewhere around the four minute mark, but it keeps on going for another two minutes. It’s a bit weird, considering the last two minutes was my favorite part of the song, but I felt the song dragged on a bit longer than it should have. Overall, it’s one of my less favorite songs on the album.

Hubnester Inferno

I actually liked this song. The riff that Phelpsie said was “grungey” is anything but in my opinion, and I felt it was the best part of the song. The vocals are, however, a little poor in spots, but I don’t think they ruined the song entirely. Unlike pretty much all the rest of their songs, this one uses an acoustic guitar alongside the drums and base, and with the SID sampling it sounds quite distinct from the rest of their sound. Perhaps I am alone in this, but I would not mind to hear more songs like this one from the band.

Loot Burn Rape Kill Repeat

Short and sweet, although that isn’t quite the proper word to convey the thrashing metal inherent in this song. While the opening is soft and soothing, it builds the feeling of ease only to have the rest of the song bring it crashing around you. One of the better instrumentals on the album, even though it’s length brings it in as the shortest song of all. I always want just a bit more after listening to this song, which is in itself both a good thing, and a problem.

Fury

The namesake song of the album is a fantastic power metal track that absolutely is one of my favorites on the album. I’m a huge power metal fan, and Machinae Supremacy nails it in this song with great vocals alongside great guitar. Maybe it’s a bit “unimpressionable” musically, but amongst comparable power metal, it definitely stands out to me. For anyone out there who enjoys a good epic metal piece, this song is definitely a high note.

Steve’s Quest

There’s a good handful of Machinae Supremacy songs involving a “Steve”, and they’re all very upbeat and fun songs, even if they aren’t all instrumentals like this one. This one heavily uses the SID station, and it makes the song very nostalgic and happy, in my view. I can imagine skipping down the sidewalk while listening to this song, old-school gameboy in my pocket, charged up and ready to while away the long summer hours. While it isn’t one of my favorite songs, Steve’s Quest is definitely a good one and worth a listen. Or two.

Sidology Episodes I-III

These three songs clock in at over twenty-five minutes total, an instrumental epic several years in the making. Each of the three parts can stand on it’s own as a great song, and together they create a trinity of instrumental amazement. Okay, that’s a bit silly and melodramatic, but after listening to these songs you’ll agree. I only felt a lot of repetitiveness in episode three, but the high-speed happiness of the track forgives it this indiscretion. It might seem impossible, but the almost thirteen minute second episode is the most varied of all three, and shows off many different sounds all in the same piece. While I have Sidology separated into its three parts on my iPod, Phelpsie has them all combined into a super-track merely called “Sidology”, forcing one to listen through the entire epic at once. A harrowing journey, I am sure, and one that I have undertaken on many an occasion. As a whole, I would say that Sidology is my favorite super-track on the album, and my highest recommendation to those who want to take in all of Machinae Supremacy’s unique sound in one sitting.

My overall impression is very good on this album. It’s a shame that this band is still so underground, but perhaps that helps them keep out the riff-raff at their live performances, ensuring only the real fans of the music get a chance to see them. Even with my admitted bias towards the band, I still give this album a conservative 4 out of 5.

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