Machinergy – Sounds Evolution

0
221

Portugal’s Machinergy cover the standard death/thrash bases with a respectable enthusiasm. What’s mind blowing about Sounds Evolution is just how professional it sounds, despite it being produced entirely by the band. It’s crisp and clear with a good emphasis placed on the vocals and no instrument drowning out everything else, which so often happens with the bass or drums in indie thrash recordings. Before anything else, Machinergy deserve praise for their effective sonic palette.

Rui Vieira’s voice is… do people who speak Portuguese just sing like this? The man sounds like a crossbreed of Max Cavalera (ex-Sepultura, Soulfly, etc.) and Wagner Antichrist (Sarcofago), who themselves sounded very similar. In no way is that meant as a criticism, as that vocal style has proven to be the perfect fit for death/thrash, being not quite death growls, but still more guttural than the standard thrash delivery. In fact, Machinergy’s entire shtick seems to be to effectively ape classic Brazilian thrash. Vieira employs the same bombastic, bottom heavy guitar tone that was found on Sepultura’s Schizophrenia, Helder Rodrigues’ drum sound is a dead ringer for that found on Sarcofago’s Laws of the Scourge album, and some of the more ambient/industrial touches seem to be torn straight out of Mutilator.

Usually such derivation would sound stilted, but Machinergy bring so much passion and energy to their well-written, well-produced songs, that everything I’ve mentioned becomes more of an observation than a criticism. Their material is varied and engaging, and should be respected for making ample use of their native tongue in the lyrics. While I think the band still has a way to go before finding their own true voice and style, they’re definitely coming from a good place and are certainly worthy of keeping a keen eye on.

Machinergy – Sounds Evolution
Reader Rating0 Votes
4
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments