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| 2008 | ALTERNATIVE METAL | HARD ROCK |
Track Listing
1. Overworld ✔
2. Need For Steve ✔
3. Edge And Pearl
4. Radio Future
5. Skin
6. Truth Of Tomorrow
7. Dark City ✔
8. Conveyor
9. Gimme More (SID)
10. Violator
11. Sid Icarus
12. Stand 6. Truth Of Tomorrow
7. Dark City ✔
8. Conveyor
9. Gimme More (SID)
10. Violator
11. Sid Icarus
✔ indicates track pick
Rating
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Review
Before this review even commences, I'll just state a quick fact; Machinae Supremacy are a REAL internet success story. Many bands will release a couple of demos online, before recording an album. On the other hand you have Machinae Supremacy. They released over thirty songs for free download on their website before singing with Spinefarm Records, all of which are still available for free from their website today. It's this kind of musical attitude that has got them where they are today. Innovatively combining an infectious and hard hitting style of metal, with sounds from the Commodore 64's SID chip has created something original which the band appropriately defined as "SID-Metal". It comes as no surprise that with such an altruistic attitude toward distributing music and with the sounds of old style gaming scattered throughout their songs, that the band appealed to the gaming community, gathering an underground internet following. But enough history.
Machinae Supremacy's "Overworld" is an album that will keep you enthralled from start to finish. It's evident that the band did not just include material for the sake of filling the album. While many bands seem to have their few catchy songs in an album, while the rest is just filler material, almost everything on "Overworld" sounds as if it could stand alone as a single. The title track kicks off the album at full force, with shredding guitar riffs, fast pumping drum beats, and a chorus so beautiful and large it sent shivers down my spine the first time I heard it. 'Need For Steve' is another winner, showing what the band is all about; fast guitars and big hooks with some electronics thrown in. It would still be a decent album without those gaming sounds, but they fill out the gaps and make for a wider and more diverse soundscape. It adds that extra layer of melody, playing off Robert Stjärnström's vocals, to make unbelievable harmonies. In another setting the vocals might come off as whiny, but they seem to work perfectly with music, and Stjärnström's strong Swedish accent only adds to it.
'Skin' is another piece that deserves a mention, with a tranquil guitar and strings introduction, building up to an inspirational finale, with a minute long guitar solol to end the song. That's another thing worth mentioning; lead guitarist Jonas Rörling can play brilliant guitar solos, and the rest of the band knows this, because they work in a solo into almost every song. It's a good thing however, and they never overdo it. I could almost write a paragraph on every song on this album, but using words I can only describe so much. The only real disappointment was the band's choice of 'Edge And Pearl' as the single with the music video. I found it to be the most mediocre song on the album, because it's basically an average four chord pop song with metal overtones. But I'm not trying to fool anyone here; It's all very much pop metal with a difference, amid melodic guitar riffs and enormously catchy sing along choruses. I mean they did include an amusing cover of Brittney Spear's 'Gimme More'. However I don't care what you call it. All I know is I like it.
Machinae Supremacy Is...
Robert Stjärnström - Vocals
Jonas Rörling - Lead Guitar
Andreas Gerdin - Guitar / Keys
Johan Hedlund - Bass
Niklas Karvonen - Drums
Download
*All of the band's early material is available for free and legal
download at the official website, under the 'Music' tab.
Listen
Track 7. Dark City
Band Links
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