Overworld

Back to where it all began: the very first metal album I heard, way back in 2010.

Machinae Supremacy is one of those bands that are widely viewed with disdain by elitist metalheads, be it for Gaz's distinctive vocals or the electronic elements that are lifted straight from 8-bit video games (think OG Super Mario from the NES). It is one of the last things that comes to mind when someone brings up "good power metal" due to these elements. Their brand of power metal does breathe some fresh air into the genre with their video game-adjacent approach instead of the Tolkien/folklore approach that many bands like Blind Guardian use. Using folklore in power metal is not a bad thing; I just want something new, and that is exactly what MS provided with their sound and lyrical themes.

The blend of power metal, alt rock, and chiptune electronics here creates a surprisingly coherent and rich sound that does not sound overly cheesy and obnoxious, avoiding one of my biggest gripes about power metal. The music structure here is something I did not expect for something from the late 2000s, especially without prog and tech tags, and that is the music centering around the vocals. While the guitars and keyboards are capable of dishing out powerful and memorable riffs, they tend to play simpler rhythms and melodies while Gaz is singing, as if they want to give his vocals the spotlight, and the instruments are carefully made around his voice to not overshadow him. It is indeed a unique approach that reminds me of Versailles, with Kamijo's vocals being the main spotlight of their sound and the instruments being composed around his voice.

While the band is capable of creating some really good power metal, I think what they excel at is creating slower ballads like "Dark City". Given where it is in the album, I think it is a brilliant inclusion due to it being placed in the middle of a power metal album and allowing the listener to take a breather with this atmospheric and freezing power ballad. I do wish they would do this for future albums, as every album of theirs after this besides Phantom Shadow does not have a slow and refreshing ballad like this.

For the instruments, I think I have to address the elephant in the room first: How do I feel about Gaz's vocals? In my opinion, it is not that bad for power metal in general, especially when there are worse vocalists that cannot even hit half the notes (don't remind me of Chris Barnes and his godawful EEEEEEEEEEEEEs). I will never understand why people complain about his vocals when they do the job just fine and give the band one of its two unique identities. As for the other instruments, they are equally balanced in the sound, with no one instrument overpowering the soundscape and burying the rest. Even the bass is fairly audible here. The chiptunes deserve a passage of their own here; they behave like a third guitar in their sound and on this album, providing their own melodies, riffs, and atmospheric backdrops. In fact, the entire album will lose its soul once someone finds a way to remove the chiptunes from the mix.

I guess I was pretty lucky when I began my journey into metal because all seven parts of my memory lane are great albums in their own right, barring Idolator. If you want to listen to some power metal with an unorthodox approach, check these guys out; just watch out for the vocals.

Highlights: Dark City, Need for Steve, Overworld, Conveyer
Songs to avoid: Gimme More (it is a Britney Spears cover)

More hit-or-miss material from Machinae Supremacy here, but viewed from a more metallic perspective, this album is certainly more unconventional and as such should not be subject to such rigorous evaluation as the heavier A View from the End of the World. In the past I derided the band's inability to function at any velocity beneath the level of twelve year-old who slammed a bag of pop rocks, and if Overworld substantiates anything, it is the fact that the band excels at moodier half-ballads; perhaps even more convincingly than the high-octane aural sugar-highs they are normally associated with.

So yeah, compared to this, A View from the End of the World comes off like a riff powerhouse. Although looking back on it, tracks like "Force Feedback" and especially "Cybergenesis" had some relatively involved and compelling riff structures, which added some spice to an album so stylistically top heavy it isn't even funny. With the band purporting a sound more akin to electronic/alternative metal this time around, Overworld definitely ends up being a more consistent listen on the whole. The infamous SID-chip gets a decent workout as well, but through a wiser selection of samples comes off as much less garish and obtrusive. In fact, the electronic elements are responsible for most of the hooks, as Stjärnström's exaggerated inflection undermines his ability to let loose a good melodic vocal lick.

What few riffs worth noting are generally stockpiled for the faster numbers like the title track and "Violator," which both rock pretty hard and should easily strain a few necks for those in the right mood. Still, there is a high prevalence for extended drop-out passages on virtually every song, which at best feature vocals counterpointed by a fluttering synth line. This does the band few favors, as Stjärnström's self-indulgent, nasal yammering can grow very tiring in short order. "Need for Steve" is the best example of both ends of this gamut, as it features a stratospheric chorus ("So many under the sun, so many under the gun.") that arrives just in time to save the track from the nasty, atonal verse structure. Some numbers like "Conveyor" have their faster moments, but fail to accrue much traction when the riffs are solely highlighted due to an obvious dearth regarding the metal element.

But where Overworld really excels is on the somber, funereal outings like "Dark City" and especially "Edge and Pearl." These are both among Machinae Supremacy's greatest output, and it is indeed something of a great irony that they are two of the slowest cuts on the record. Therein lies the anomaly of Overworld, I suppose. Given the proclivity for experimentation on these tracks along with the aforementioned speedier fare, a decent equilibrium is attained that makes this a fine record to enjoy as a whole. In fact, discounting the vocals, this is one of the better pairings of electronica and metal I have ever come across. To his credit, Stjärnström improved later on, but it almost sounds like he is forcing some bizarre accent hybridization here, and it is what certainly keeps classic status out of Overworld's reach.

Anyway, for a band that is eternally linked to the ridiculous, lurid and puerile, much of this material evokes a sincerity that makes Overworld a keeper at the end of the day. While the later material (especially Rise of a Digital Nation) excels only on the scorchers, I find myself coming back to this one more often due to its electric and ambient disposition. Given a choice, I would probably call this Machinae Supremacy's best work, but then again I haven't heard Phantom Shadow yet, so I guess we will see.

It’s often the case that, when a band relies on a single unique concept or feature, that band quickly devolves into a gimmicky experience. That feature takes centre stage, putting any of the other positive aspects of the band out of the limelight, and causing the whole band to suffer. Take, for instance, Dragonforce, who begun to focus more on technical prowess (speed and complexity in particular) than writing particularly good songs. Machinae Supremacy have such a core feature in their use of the SID chip to create sounds, but, unlike so many others, they pull it off spectacularly.

It’s difficult to find a bracket into which to put the band. Most are happy with power metal, but that overlooks their various influences, which include the likes of electronica, chipset music (most particularly, that from older videogames), and so on. It’s an interesting hotchpotch of genres that works surprisingly well. The electronica elements and the more traditional metal pieces go hand in hand, each accentuating the other and combining to form a distinctly pleasing sound. The opening and ending of “Need for Steve,” on which spectacular guitars and keyboards intermingle to create a rush of sound are perhaps the best examples of this. Interestingly, once again thwarting expectations, the album is strong lyrically, with topics ranging from the corruption of the music industry to being oneself rather than following others – somewhat clichéd topics, perhaps, but the band handle it in a very mature, thoughtful way.

Amidst the brilliance of these unlikely bedfellows, the band give the listener songs of anthemic proportions. Huge choruses – the sort which you will find yourself transfixed on as you go about your everyday life – abound, and the album keeps up a steady thumping pace. The points where it does slow down, on the likes of “Radio Future,” “Skin,” and “Stand” are hardly, however, poor songs – they are, while hardly highlights, still fantastic in their own right. The real highlights are the faster, thrilling songs – “Need for Steve,” “Dark City,” “Edge and Pearl,” “Conveyor,” and the title track stand out in particular. Humorously, Machinae Supremacy’s cover of Britney Spears’ “Gimme More,” which, to be honest, shouldn’t work, is actually thoroughly enjoyable to listen to.

Indeed, the whole album, the whole band, shouldn’t work. Electronic music and heavy metal aren’t really made for one another, at the end of the day. So, it is perhaps the band’s biggest achievement, beyond making a fantastic album, that they make such an unlikely combination work.

Ever since the whole inception of melodic power metal into God’s green planet, there has been a never ending formation of acts choosing to pay tributes to the council of elder gods that comprises of the likes of Iron Maiden, Helloween, Blind Guardian, Running Wild, Grave Digger, Rage etc or for that matter the torch bearers of the 90s like Gamma Ray and Stratovarius. Many came, saw the light of day and then simply either vanished into obscurity or continued to release a slew of albums that just didn’t feel original or heavy enough to grab you by your throat. Flower metal, an intended pun on power metal with extra layers of cheese that often serve as bait for dragons and wizards was another such phase that just didn’t feel all that appealing after a certain period of time.

In such a competitive landscape, a young band known as Machinae Supremacy choose not to fly so far back in time to the fantasies of the middle ages, but rather to a more recent past when computers and video games were just on the verge of revolutionizing the whole concept of indoor entertainment and merge the idea nicely with crunchy power metal to create an absolutely unique genre in music, very few have attempted or failed to even conjure up. This genre is known as SID metal, SID being the sound device that was used in old commodore computers that was extremely popular during the early 80s. The overall sound feels like a huge throwback to the Nintendo and Atari times when Contra and Mario were at the tip of everybody’s tongues but with heavy metal riffs to beef up the listening experience.

Overworld is the band’s fourth studio album and much like the previous releases, its all about their passion for old school video games. Having said that, the music and songwriting are a lot better and the production is simply magnificent. Vocals can fall somewhat flat at times but they suit the band’s sound. The SID effects in the background along with the hard riffs are just perfect. The title track is the best one on the album with some pounding riffs and a killer solo in the middle. Tracks such as “Need for Steve” and “Radio Future” make good use of the SID chip, while a power ballad tendency is easily heard on the ambitious “Skin” which goes into complete overdrive in the second half. A cover of one of the most hated names in the music industry, Britney Spears sounds surprisingly good even though the omission of it wouldn’t have left the album incomplete.

There are times when the band steps perilously close to the boundaries of new age alternative, but despite the few shortcomings there’s no denying that the talent of the band is immense and the possibility of attaining superstar status wont elude them for too long. Even though I dig more eighties fodder, bands like these keep my level of interest high in new releases. Keep a track of this Swedish troupe; they’re a very interesting act indeed. Ever heard of Video game metal? Try this.

Machinae Supremacy is often a victim of I-know-everything reviewers, who love to make stupid comparisons with other bands, most of which are million times under their level and/or have nothing to do with their genre. Yes, the comparisons are incredibly stupid, because Machinae Supremacy is absolutely unique band (although there are other bands using 8-bit sounds), without any exaggeration. Their latest product of the creativity of those guys, the energetic and powerful album "Overworld" is the fresh proof of my words. 8-bit electronics have never sounded better as well as the whole band, beating all expectations and outstripping even the almost perfect "Redeemer", which, believe me, is a VERY BIG thing! "Overworld" is more rock-ish and melodic than their previous works, varrying between genres like industrial, power, rock, and of course, SID metal. There's no a single track you won't remember - from the powerful opening with the self-titled track, through total "metal hits" like "Need For Steve" and "Radio Future", the outstanding masterpiece "Skin", the incredible Britney Spears' (!) cover version of "Gimme More", to the last second of "Stand", this album will just not let you press the "Pause" or "Stop" buttons! One of the most serious pretenders for my (yours too, right after you hear it) "Album of the Year"! The best album released in 2008 so far, too. Don't miss it!