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Andre Holgersen

Sep 2022

10 out of 10 points

Translated Text:

„Sometimes dreams come true“

The thought of the debut album by the Californian band DAMN THE MACHINE, which saw the light of day in 1993, will probably not only give me a shiver. After all, this work is one of the outstanding discs of the 90s and beyond that one of the most enduring representatives of sophisticated electric guitar music. Actually, it's no wonder when you know that Chris Poland plays the lead guitar there. The guitarist who caused open mouths as Dave Mustaine's sidekick on the first two MEGADETH discs. His jazz-influenced, idiosyncratic and very soulful style was an excellent counterpoint to Daves' aggressive fingering. After his departure, Chris played in a number of bands apart from our music preferences, but also poached as a soloist in our pond. I only refer to the great instrumental album "Return To Metalopolis". When he then appears as DAMN THE MACHINE with his equally experienced drummer brother Mark, the bassist David Randi, who had already played with him in MUMBO'S BRAIN, and the singing guitarist Dave Clemmons, and immediately with a major deal in his luggage as a support band of the time DREAM THEATER is on tour right now, many are hoping to see the next great band grow here. But unfortunately it turns out differently, because the troupe breaks up after just this one album. Luckily Clemmons shows up on MINISTER OF ANGER and MURDERCAR afterwards - we're all waiting for a regular album release (!) - but unfortunately the chapter DAMN THE MACHINE comes to an end much too soon.

In the meantime, Dave has also always remained active on other musical paths - I only refer to JUD - but the sparks of coarseness, dirt and aggressiveness were always missing for the shy Prog Metal band. A few months ago, "Day One" was the demo release of the well-known material. A very fine affair that can also bring the name a little closer to a late-born audience. But that's not all, because the gentlemen have dug deep in their archives and with "The Last Man" they now present us with previously unknown songs from demo recordings from the years 1992 and 1995.

What should I write around the bush? The material offers exactly the same mix of progressive thrash and sophisticated rock music that the fan loved from the debut. Dave's distinctive vocals, which always sound a bit pressed and pissed off, but can also sound wonderfully clear, is just one of several unique selling points. The transparency of all musicians another. Randy's wonderfully warm, oppressive bass runs, which represent a wonderfully deep, booming basic structure in all songs, can probably be described as lead bass lines. In addition, there is the multifaceted beat of Mark Poland, which is able to set great accents in all songs.

If I said Thrash in my above attempt to describe the style, then that is certainly a bit misleading, because brute riff attacks or even lightning-fast tempos are not to be found on DAMN THE MACHINE. This completely subjective stylistic reference is more of a feeling on my part, because Messrs Clemmons and Poland work a lot with open chords, tempi are constantly changing, they drift into almost jazzy realms again and again without ever losing sight of the song. Exactly this is the special thing: despite all the playfulness, the number all have nasty catchy qualities, because the vocal lines alone are partly not from this world.

Already the opening 'The Final Amendment' shows the direction very well, although the tempo of this song is exceptionally high for the band. Quite harsh riff passages alternate with acoustic moments in which, paradoxically, the drums pick up speed again and again. The constantly pumping, slightly hectic lead bass and the many melodic excursions on the guitar sound like a dizzying ride. That's true too, but I still have the vocal melody in my ear after the first run through. It's even worse with the following hit called 'Welcome The Red', in which Dave proves his singing qualities more than impressively.

If I had to name further highlights, the evocative 'Menial War' quickly comes to mind, whose mystical mood in the verses immediately appealed to me. In between, harsh riffs sweep our curls straight again and again, so that the fist factor is not too small. But with knotted fingers. The other seven tracks are in no way inferior to these high-flyers, so that "The Last Man" quickly became a permanent drug for me. Again and again I am fascinated to discover new details and subtleties and am constantly humming passages to myself.

Since these are demo recordings, the recording quality is not perfect, but this sound image in particular adds a whole bucket of sympathy from me. The musically perfect choice has a pleasantly organic touch, which I would like to compare with a visit to the rehearsal room. You are almost up close to the action. music to touch. Needless to say, top marks are due here, right?

10 from 10 Points

September 2022