Machinery - The Passing

by Cosmo Lee

I've lost much interest in Swedish melodic death metal, because of both changing tastes and stagnation/oversaturation of the music. While good melodeath records still come out (Dark Tranquillity are still thriving, while Omnium Gatherum and Mors Principium Est are enjoyable new blood), the style increasingly seems limited and conservative to me. I suppose that "style" and "limitations" are flip sides of the same coin.

I Divine
Decide My Pain

Stockholm's Machinery don't break new ground in the style. But they bring a sense of drama and ambition I haven't felt from melodeath in a while. I'm surprised how much I like The Passing (Regain, 2008), since it has so many elements I don't like: melodeath riffs, melodic singing, keyboards. The riffs are sturdy enough, however, and the leads are ripping. Both benefit from Jonas Kjellgren's (Scar Symmetry) punchy production, which preserves clarity in picking even at high speeds. The singing utilizes both growling and singing, but the latter is more of a grand Viking style instead of simple good cop/bad cop mechanics; some of the vocal patterns and melodies also recall Nevemore. As for keyboards, they tastefully act as textural color rather than a sonic crutch.

Most importantly, Machinery write actual songs. These jams stick in the head. "I Divine" is a memorable indictment of Christianity: "Why does he keep on fighting / Why does he believe in god/ I can't believe his crying / Crying for the love of god." "Decide My Pain" deploys a similarly catchy chorus. This record's got hooks, it's got scope, and on its first spin, it made me sit down and hear it straight through. I can't remember the last time a record did that!

Buy:
Regain
Relapse