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Steel > Heavy Metal Machine > 2004, Digital, Independent > Reviews
Steel - Heavy Metal Machine

A Little Too Rabid and Raw For My Tastes - 55%

CHAIRTHROWER, August 18th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2004, Digital, Independent

Good grief! How long do eyebrows take to grow back? Because mine've been singed right off thanks to Steel's scripp-scrappy and severely strident Heavy Metal Machine EP from 1998. Call me meek but unfortunately, I think I prefer Volture's much more tame and melodic similarly titled track from its Shocking Its Prey EP. HMM roars its way past the listener at sheer breakneck speed, lead break and all, without so much as a glance back so I can see how this would appeal to unapologetic European super-speed metal freaks who value intensity and velocity over musical prowess. (Dig the inevitable speed-limit breaking police siren!) Mind you the solo to the way more accessible "Rock Tonite" is as swift and solid as a wrecking ball on the loose while kudos must be given to the gleefully maniacal and lusty lyrics to the A side venture:

You may believe it's thunder, roaring in the sky
Well, it's just my machine, together we will die
The engine's hot and heavy, I'm ecstasy
Nothing's gonna stop me, forever I'll be free!..."

And that's the more subdued verse! In my opinion, the flip side's "Rock Tonite" is by far the better of the three tracks on offer. I mean dig the marshmallow-y intro to "Say Goodbye (To Love)" and buddy's squashed-nuts, glass shattering cries which make Grim Reaper's Steve Grimmett sound like a timid mouse. In this regards, I suppose props are in order, as well as to its sweet, sinuous and serpentine solo featuring some nice squeals and hyperactive finger tapping. That voice though! It's a bit much. Even Leather's Heart's front man isn't as shrill. The piano outro is sort of cute but I think I'll pass on an encore. At best, this is worth checking out for the two first tracks, perhaps purchasing for the second one.

"...Lock up your daughters and kiss your ass goodbye
To bring you pain is my pleasure
To hear the engine roar like a tiger in a cage
It brings me lust beyond measure…"

Egad!

The most feel-good-albums in the world - 100%

Rottenrectum, June 30th, 2010

I can't stress enought how happy and positive this album is. Only three songs but damn this is good. Now remember you need to have a "laid back" attitude towards metal and music in general to appreciate this to the fullest, but if you do this is one hell of a treat. Listening to this while enjoying the sunshine of a beautiful summers day is on par with shagging a hot chick, or maybe that's just me since the winter here in cold Sweden is yeah cold and too damn long. But take my word for it, this is great.

Dan Swanö is one of my absolute favorite and most admired musicians in the world, multitalented doesn't even begin to describe him. It began with a vague interest in Edge Of Sanity, arguably his first project, but it really got a powerful kick-start when I heard their cover of "Blood Of My Enemies" originally by Manowar. Now I really love Manowar, and the voice of Eric Adams, but Mr. Swanö blows him clean out of the water here. His deep, powerful and increadibly emotional voice (as displayed in Nightingale) is unbeatable. Now when I had heard is talent for deep, powerful growls and equally deep and powerful clean singing I was in for a treat when I discovered this EP. Turns out he can do the most entertaining heavy metal falsettos as well. Like I needed more proof this guy was a musical god.

One of the major turn-ons for me with this EP is the tongue-in-cheek approach to classic heavy metal. You know that feeling when you can clearly picture the singer lightly jumping on stage with a funny grin on his face? (pity if you can't). Yeah that's the overall feeling going through the entire EP (three songs, a real massive epic right there...). The additional notes here on the archives say they " The members just wanted to have some fun playing 80's Power Metal. They didn't want to continue this project after the first EP.". The first part they got completely right. I can really hear they're having fun, it makes me wish I could play an instrument (or sing as godly as Mr. Swanö) and just have fun with a band like that, but the second part brings me down again. Sure they had fun and created the perfect heavy metal party EP, sure to bring a good amount of laughs, but it's a shame we didn't get more. Maybe the spirit couldn't stay strong for more than three magnificent songs.

On to the technical bits, the music in itself is what you'd expect; fast tempo, simplistic but catchy riffs and (really) high falsetto singing. Imagine the defining parts of albums like Judas Priest - Painkiller and Riot - Thundersteel and max that to a thousand until there's nothing else left. Yepp this is Heavy Metal Machine. Fast, catchy and tons of fun. This is true for the first two thirds, the last song is the mandatory ballad (if you could call it that). This is pretty much what you'd expect also, slowed down tempo with a deep, emotional atmosphere to it, like most songs you'd find on a "Most wanted Rock ballads" CD, except the cheesy love-bit. The cheese is still there, in massive quantities, it's just not the same kind as Nazareth - Love Hurts if you catch my drift. It still retains that positive, feel-good vibe.

To summarize this, if you check out Steels page here on the archives, read "lyrical contents" and "additional notes" and think anything that isn't along the lines "well this seems like something fun", this isn't for you. But if you can take your metal with a pinch of salt and enjoy a little bit of fun-making, this is definitely for you. As of writing this, I'm on my 15th spin in two weeks, it that good. I challange you to find a more positive and feel-good album than this. Seriously, PM me on the forums if you do. I'm giving this 100% because I can't find a single flaw. For what it's worth, it's perfect in every way.

Steel - Heavy Metal Machine Keeps Churning! - 90%

Pratl1971, January 15th, 2008

Christ, when did Dan Swano find David Coverdale's penchant for the ballad? When you listen to the track Say Goodbye (to Love) you can't help but picture a post-Deep Purple Coverdale vying so damn hard for commercial acclaim.

Don't take this as a rip on Dan Swano's vocals. Yes, the high wailing can get a bit tedious, but it's all in fun! And this is precisely what power metal was long before these crap bands came flooding out of Germany with their silly keyboards drowning out the sub-par music therein. Power metal was just three or four guys mulling around the studio and killing time by paying homage to an underrated, infiltrated and overused section of our beloved genre. However, I've made a case for years saying that anything Mikael Akerfeldt touches becomes golden - adding Swano and Peter from Opeth in the mix just guarantees it's going o be either fun, mesmerizing or taking the proverbial piss out of our metal.

I had a tough time tracking down this little gem, but it was well worth it. It's a great tribute to the crux and silliness of the 80s era of heavy metal. The first track, Rock Tonight, sounds like a Motley Crue (Shout-era)/Grim Reaper hybrid that simply reeks of metal majesty the way it was meant to be remembered in the 80s. The lyrics are the same cheese that can be seen dripping from the old MTV logos of years' past, but when these guys attempt it it is not only tolerable but damn good!

The title track, musically, reminds me of demo-era Warlock, capturing the ever-elusive, always-amazing German/Swedish/British style of heavy metal we've all come to see bastardized by current shit bands one and all. That said, it's also a great track to bang you head to should you require such processes in your daily metal curriculum. It's also so damn cool to hear Mikael and Peter shredding in the old 80s vein, proving they can pretty much do it all and then some!

If you can find it, grab it! Great offering from some of our genre's best!

This is odd...But fun - 78%

CrystalMountain, August 22nd, 2005

Well this is an odd little EP, old school heavy metal, featuring the members of Opeth, with Dan Swano singing......Ok?

But anyways, it's actually pretty good, and fun. The production is great, and the musicianship is of course above average. The one thing I don't like is Dan Swano tries to hit alot of notes that he can't, he sings in pretty much all falsetto, and it just sounds really forced at times. But that's no big deal really.

Heavy Metal Machine is the opener, a fast and agressive rocker. Sounding alot like a fast Judas Priest song. Great chorus, and a guitar solo that makes you wanna play air guitar and head bang like crazy.

Rock Tonite is up next, it's definetly my favorite song. It's a little slower, and sounds a bit like Accept...Ok, ALOT like Accept. Some nice riffs and leads to be found. And of course the ultimate 80's metal cliche, the music stops and Dan squeals "It doesn't matter if you're black or white, cause me and my boys are gonna roooooock tonight!"

Say Goodbye To Love is the ballad, it wouldn't be an ode to cheesey 80's metal if it didn't have a power ballad now would it? It's actually quite good, Dan sings in a low voice for the verses, and one of the most ridiculously cheesey falsetto's I've ever heard for the chorus. I mean this is like one of those expensive blocks of the sharp cheddar cheese. But it's all in good fun, and with a more competent vocalist would be an awesome song.

Steeeeeeeeeeel! - 87%

Heian, January 8th, 2004

Now that Dan Swanö has redesigned his web site and posted a bajillion mp3s for free download, Steel's entire 3-song catalogue is finally easily accessible to the masses!

But first, a small history lesson. According to Dan's site, Steel was created during the recording of Opeth's Morningrise. Dan and Opeth were goofing around and decided to make a tribute to the 80's German power metal scene (i.e. Accept), which was extremely unpopular at the time. So they hammered out 3 songs and apparently that was as far as they ever took the project.

The three songs feature Dan Swanö screeching like nobody's business, and he's clearly good enough to have been in any of the bands they were playing tribute to. Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth is on guitars, and the riffs and solos are all straight out of the 80s. You won't hear any of his guitar work here in Opeth. There's even some sirens and motor noises in the title track! Makes you wanna get some tight jeans and headbang. Say Goodbye (to Love) is a very standard 80s ballad in every way.

The atmosphere is very fun and energetic. The lyrics are as cheesy as the song titles, especially on Rock Tonite ("It doesn't matter if you're black or white, me and my boys are gonna rock all night!"). All in all it's a lot of fun and if you've ever secretly (or unsecretly) enjoyed an 80s metal song then you'll probably love this. Like with Bloodbath, it's kind of scary how these guys can throw together a side project and have it turn out so well.

Now that it's up for free download, there's no reason not to grab these songs. If you can actually find a copy of this single (EP?) then by all means pick it up. Even if you don't like it, you can probably sell it to some Swanö or Opeth fan for a bundle.

Alot of fun to listen to - 75%

SufferingOverdue, May 25th, 2003

Out of all of Dan Swano's side projects, I don't think there is one of them that makes me wanna get outside and be metal more than this one does. This stuff is pure cheese, pure cliche, and pure 1980s. Power metal to the max, both of these songs are just great, and quite funny at the same time.

The thing that struck me most was Dan's voice. The guy has a falsetto like no other on here, it's really quite amazing. High pitched squeals and screams that remind me in places of Sebastian Bach's on "18 And Life". The guitar work is very good infact, the riffs are catchy, the solos are decent and generally it's call good "foot on the monitor" style stuff. The drums thud along at a constant double bass speed and the songs are just short, sharp and very funny blasts of 80s power metal.

This is basically a way for members of otherwise very serious bands (I seriously doubt we'll be hearing a racing car speeding by on an Opeth song like there is at the beginning of the suitably titled "Heavy Metal Machine") to have a lot of fun, and it just so turns out that it sounds great too. My only problem with this single is that it's so damn short, I believe there are version with the 3rd "Say Goodbye To Love" song on but still, 3 songs is hardly enough and it's very hard to find. I can only wish they rerelease this with all 4 of their supposed songs and a couple more in the future.