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Review |
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I have been a big fan of No Machine ever since I
got hold of their debut 5 track promo EP, the band
have a really laid back easy listening prog rock
sound and you can clearly see that they are influenced
by Marillion, a band that No Machine openly admit
they are very fond of.
The bands debut album 'A Terrible Thing' is an
11 track prog rock masterpiece that is so easy
on the ear, it leaves you wanting to hear more
from No Machine when the outro of the final track
'Diamond Ring' fades out. If you were lucky enough
to get hold of a copy of the bands debut self
titled EP then you will already have heard 5 of
the tracks that are included on the bands album,
the albums artwork was designed and made by legendary
artist Mark Wilkinson who is a well known artist
who has done artwork for Iron Maiden, Judas Priest
and also worked on the long running Judge Dread
cartoon books.
The album opens up with the title track 'A Terrible
Thing' where spacey sounding keyboard sounds start
off giving the song a long sci-fi feel introduction
and before you know it, the guitars kick in along
with the constant drumming, Vocalist Al Rivers
vocals come in loud, powerful and clear. The song
is extremely easy listening and the kind of song
that anyone can pick up and become hooked on,
the song is full of catchy melodies and this is
how the album runs pretty much the whole way through.
'I Get Down' starts off with a really fast upbeat
keyboard introduction that really runs the song,
the guitar riffs are quite noticeable and are
not to heavy nor to mellow, Al Rivers vocals once
again really shine, 'I Get Down' is definitely
a song that would be more appreciated played live
and would get some movement in the pit.
The first single to come of A Terrible Thing
was 'Tell Me' the song is really laid back and
features some of the best guitar riffs on the
album, the guitar solo is mouthwatering and the
overall laid back feeling over the song would
call for arm swaying and lighters in the air at
the bands shows.
There are some really good stand out moments
on A Terrible Thing with the first being 'I Choose
You' the song is extremely catchy and shows the
band at their best instrumentally and vocally,
everything about 'I Choose You' is great, its
quite a laid back song but really is catchy and
radio friendly at the same time, 'I Choose You'
is shouting out to be released as a single and
No Machine would be silly not to release this
song.
Another highlight on the album has to be the
glam rock ‘wannabeeness’ of 'Divine'
the band have created a classic song here with
a really kick arse chorus of "Divine my love,
define my love, divine my love, defy my love",
once you have heard 'Divine' a couple of times
there will be no escaping the chorus.
The softest sounding song on the album has to
be 'Elevator' and there is something about it
that sounds so beautiful, the guitars and bass
are quite faded out, they are noticeable but only
just and you are left with the beautiful keyboard
sound and Al Rivers vocals that really drive the
song. 'Sha La La Lady' is another chilled out
song and is the weakest song on the album which
took me a few listens to get into.
'The Races' brings back the bands upbeat sound,
the song is epic and catchy, the guitar riffs
are dark, and the synths and keyboard work really
adds to the songs overall feels, however it’s
the razor sharp catchy chorus that stands out
the most. 'Sunshine (Ain't No Friend Of Mine)'
is a dark, jazz pop rock song.
The album closes with 'Diamond Ring' the same
song closed the bands EP, the song is a good end
to the album and finishes with a choir singing
through the outro.
No Machine aren’t a band for everyone,
however they are extremely talented and you can
tell that they put everything into their music,
Al River's vocals is what really stands out the
most to me, they are extremely energetic, loud
and clear and he’s not afraid to change
his vocal style from time to time. If you like
easy listening rock music then you will more than
love No Machine as the band have an overall chilled
out sound that is full of emotion that gets the
message across in the best possible way. I Know
'A Terrible Thing' hasn’t long been released
but I hope the wait for a new No Machine album
isn’t long especially considering the band
have many songs written that we are still yet
to hear.
5/5
Review by Trigger |
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| Band
Members |
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Al Rivers (Vocals)
Emil Rivers (Piano)
Fred (Guitar)
Joca (Drums)
Pedro (Bass)
Daniel (Organ, Synths) |
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| Track
Listing |
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1. A Terrible Thing
2. I Get Down
3. Tell Me
4. I Choose You
5. Divine
6. Elevator
7. Sha La LA Lady
8. The Races
9. Sunshine (ain't no friend of mine)
10. There Are Forces
11. Diamond Ring |
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| Band
Related Links |
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| Review
Score Code |
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- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
-
What Was That? |
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