My Machine

A new band of nobody kids playing a type of nu-breed metal. I normally wouldn't look at it twice, but when it attracts the attention of a legend, like producer, Mike Clink, it begs the question, "what made it worth his time?" To cut the suspense, it is a pretty solid cd, but I'm not quite a convert. They do what they do well, and Mike made them sound good on what I am guessing was a significantly smaller budget than he is accustomed to working with. It's not my first choice of music style, but I definitely enjoy it as a change of pace cd. They are a talented band and even the singer is pretty good, doing some really nice King's X style harmonies. But he like many singers of his generation, frequently, I guess to try to convince you he's tough, goes into that ridiculous "we like Pantera too" scream that just makes you say "Well that WAS a good song ...." The band has, in places, some other fairly obvious influences. Throughout different songs you'll hear little pieces that just make you go, "That's very Smashing Pumpkins" ... or "Somebody's been listening to Tool" ... or, even "Hey that sounds like an old guitar line from the Police." And there are smaller comparrisons; not as easily recognizable: a vocal melody from an old Billy Idol song or towards the end something that even sounds like the long forgotten band Fate. (although since I'm guessing they probably never heard that band, that last one was probably just a coincidence) It's an odd assortment of sounds and styles to be sure, but it's all weaved together into a pretty cohesive sound, so if you're open to a little more modern sound, this isn't a bad cd. --Scott