*. Maschine .*

Album: Rubidium (2013)
Genre: Prog Rock (Crossover/Metal/Jazz/Neo Prog)  /  UK

Rockers, exit stage left, proggers, stay. With the debut record that young whipper snappers Maschine have unleashed, they introduce themselves by letting us know that they can play just about any style of prog. Formed by session/live axeman & ex-Tangent member Luke Machin, Rubidium takes just about everything you can think of in the vein of art rock including male/female vocals, guttural & clean vocals, solos and soundscapes from just about every synthesizer made, insane time signatures, jazz, and jam sessions in about a hundred different keys, plus you have Machin’s personal touch on his axe and abroad. With the record you hear Marillion, Anathema, Dream Theater, Meshuggah, Glass Hammer, and so on…but because of the hodgepodge of influences and trace elements of about anything they can throw into the mix, Maschine tends to lack identity, not being all that unique, as there is no focus on a certain sound, per say, but rather on the musicianship instead. Rubidium is more fearless than narcissistic, but you still can’t avoid the pompous attitude, as it’s strictly a record for those who go nuts over prog, more than likely not being a striking set of tunage for those who just want to rock out. Not necessarily a guitarist’s album, per say, Machin does make his presence known. The first track, the ten minute “The Fallen,” tends to go everywhere, not diving into a multi-faceted composition, but treading all waters. Nevertheless, the jazzy “Cubixpro” reflects modern fusion, plus the mellow moments within “Invincible” and the two-part “Eyes” makes the music often unpredictable where all of this put together produces a record that sounds like a modernized Tales from Topographic Oceans (remember that when prog seemed to lose the plot). So all you proggers, you’re probably going to love it, but please don’t sit there like a bunch of catatonic invalids when seeing this band on stage, let the unfortunate empty seats (due to the limp-dick promotions of some festivals) do that. It’s a debut that goes all out, they definitely said, “fuck it, were going to play what we want.” Review by "Tommy Hash" (http://ytsejam.com).

RATING:  8.25 / 10

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