The Machine- Calmer than you Are (Elektrohasch 157)

This release sees The Machine heading out into a more spacey direction with much less intense guitar and solos but some pretty damn cool songs. This is the bands 4^th release and it starts off like a Colour Haze song and also includes a bit of sitar in the background and a massive low end, space vocal, massive low end riffing and not much lead guitar compared to earlier records. Oh yeah, the song is called Moonward and probably the best one on the record. Scooch has a similar bass guitar riff structure but a more spacey psychedelic vocal and a cool psyched out guitar section. Grain is a short 3 min QOTSA like track, which I did not really get the point of? D.O.G. is nearly 9 mins and the vocal delivery and basic song is a bit like QOTSA as well, the song develops in a more interesting way with a nice wah guitar solo (panned far to the right) as the track floats and some more spacey sounds enter in before they return to the starting theme. Sphere is the longest track at 12½ mins and really races out of the gates with a heavy steady gallop and slowly the band head out into a super cool spaced out section. A very cool track. 5&4 is a mid paced track with a very QOTSA vocal and with an effect on it. The melody is also too much like QOTSA. The very psyched out guitar section is really cool. A short 3 min track called Repose closes this record. I am not really happy about the band adopting all these ideas from QOTSA, including this last song, which sounds a lot like the previous song in a reprise.  I am sure my friend Tom loves this one!

http://www.themachine.web.com

http://www.elektrohasch.de

http://www.themachine.web.com