Album: Redeemer
Released: March 18, 2006 (Underground), November 28, 2006 (Spinefarm)
Genre: SID Metal
"Underground" edition from the Machinae website.
Track Listing:
1. "Elite" – 4:24
2. "Rise" – 5:32
3. "Fury" – 5:06
4. "Ronin" – 4:17
5. "Kaori Stomp" – 4:17
6. "Hate" – 4:12
7. "I Know The Reaper" – 4:35
8. "Seventeen" – 3:45
9. "The Cavern Of Lost Time" – 0:34
10. "Rogue World Asylum" – 4:13
11. "Through The Looking Glass" – 5:10
12. "Oki Kuma's Adventure" – 5:12 (Japanese for to Big Bear's [Adventure][1])
13. "Reanimator (March Of The Undead III)" – 5:00
14. "Prelude To Empire" – 1:37
15. "Empire" – 6:51
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
I was introduced to Machinae Supremacy by a friend of mine a number of years ago when I was still in high school. At first I just liked a couple of their songs; you know how it goes someone recommends a song to you and you're like oh that's cool, then you never listen to anything else. Anyway. That's what my attitude was towards Machinae Supremacy for years, that is until recently I started listening to more of their songs.. and boy am I glad I did. Redeemer is the second studio album released by Machinae within their own self created genre of "SID Metal". There actually are two versions of this album available the one from Spinefarm Records (which is what the Amazon link is), and the "Underground" edition which is what I'll be reviewing here. What's the difference between the two editions? The Spinefarm edition is remixed and has fewer tracks on it, while the "Underground" edition has more tracks. I personally have not listened to the Spinefarm edition, so I can't comment on that particular version of it.
So, back to the review now that I've been rambling a bit. From first track to last.. Machinae held me in the whole time. Before I knew it I had already listened to the entire album.. Best tracks on the album.. well.. all of them are really good. If I have to narrow down my absolute favourite song, I'd probably go with "Through The Looking Glass" (Track 11). The guitar work.. the vocals.. heck even the lyrics are just such a pleasure to listen to. Some people have commented that the singer feels a bit on the "whiny" side, and I think I can understand where they are coming from when they say that.. However, despite this possible tripping stone, the songs are arranged so incredibly that such a thing will not tear you away from listening to the rest of the album. I think it might be a case of a singer that "grows" on you (this is the main reason that the album did not receive a 10 out of 10). Don't get me wrong, the vocals are not bad. At all. In fact in many of the songs a bit of vocal harmonization goes on that is just beautiful.
The biggest thing that attracts me to Machinae is the guitar and arrangement work that they do. The guitar melodies.. the solos.. hell even the verse and chorus riffs are just awesome to listen to. I realize that this is going to be an "import" CD if you buy the "Underground" version from the Machinae website, but trust me it is WELL worth it.
The high rating.. Now.. it is probably going to be a somewhat rare thing to see me rating something so close to a 10 out of 10 rating. That's because I'm a picky cynical son of a bitch. Probably the most important factor that affects my ratings is "RE-listenability" of the album. What does that mean? I can listen to this album from top to bottom MANY times. Which means I don't get sick of listening to the songs after just a few songs (which many bands suffer from), I'm actually able to pop this sucker on anytime and listen to any song off of it and I love it. This is becoming a very rare feat amongst artists.. and so it's always a treat to find an artist that is able to sustain the quality even through multiple listening events (and believe me I have listened to this album A LOT).
Machinae is one of those "diamond in the rough" bands that are just absolutely incredible to listen to, and yet they don't get the recognition or appreciation they deserve because they are a little bit under the radar. I certainly hope that I'll be able to review more bands that are just incredible and yet are still under many people's radars. Keep up the good work Machinae Supremacy, you guys rock.
