WORMHOLE DEATH Records; a name you may have noticed here once or twice recently...and that's because the lovely PR team for the French record label have been incredibly generous and forwarded me a parcel of promo material (actual physical CD's!) from their roster. Showcasing a variety of European metal from numerous alternative and sometimes underground sub-genre's, I aim to share these new artists with you, hoping you enjoy music you otherwise may not have heard, and shed some light on a generally untapped market, full of passionate and talented musicians. Today I'd like to share with you a band by the name of SELFMACHINE. Formed in Tilburg, Netherlands in 2011 and heavily influenced by the Scandinavian alternative scene, can these entrepreneurial rockers manufacture any quality metal in the nations wool capital? Let's ind out on new album "Societal Arcade"...
We open up with "Against The Flow" and rather appropriately, for a brief moment it's all 8bit like you've just powered up your old Super Nintendo for a session on Contra...but quickly it descends into a surging dose of riff-heavy melodic metal. Lead vocalist Steve Leijen has a good contrast between his softer, almost southern rock inspired singing and his heavier, aggressive metal growls, giving the track an appropriate level of light and dark, while lead guitarist John Brok goes a superb job with his own flowing melodies, a strong introduction this...
"Join The Hatetrain" is a mixed bag of treats, on one hand when it really get's going it in part reminds me of the likes of SPINESHANK in tone, musically, in places at least, but there are more underlying layers of prog-inspired metal akin to artists like PERIPHERY, who have been an influence on the band. Subtle key and tempo changes make for a dynamic listening experience and again, this is a band on point. Lead single "Giddy-Up" has some incredible pop-hooks allowing for a chorus that'll find itself stuck in your head or days, while the solo here is rich in emotion, you can feel a passion in their playing that can't be faked.
Tracks like "Universe" and "The Valeyard" bare resemblance to influences like SOILWORK for example the way they combine brutality with easy on the ears harmony, while at the other end of the spectrum, "No Cliche" is a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek ballad, showing the guys have a good sense of humour to boot, lyrically it's very amusing; "Life is no cheesy love song, so much should be clear, but if this were a cliche love song a guitar solo would come in right here", before we finish up on "Luminous Beings", a slow burner of a track, building up to a powerful crescendo, ending the album on a high note. Selfmachine may be in the wool capital of the Netherlands but they are far from sheep, mindlessly following the herd. Sure, their sound can be categorized by means of their influences but here they've got enough originality and quality to stand out, this is a strong album...Selfmachine are a well oiled unit and have passed this M.O.T. with flying colours...now...where's my copy of Contra...[8]
We open up with "Against The Flow" and rather appropriately, for a brief moment it's all 8bit like you've just powered up your old Super Nintendo for a session on Contra...but quickly it descends into a surging dose of riff-heavy melodic metal. Lead vocalist Steve Leijen has a good contrast between his softer, almost southern rock inspired singing and his heavier, aggressive metal growls, giving the track an appropriate level of light and dark, while lead guitarist John Brok goes a superb job with his own flowing melodies, a strong introduction this...
"Join The Hatetrain" is a mixed bag of treats, on one hand when it really get's going it in part reminds me of the likes of SPINESHANK in tone, musically, in places at least, but there are more underlying layers of prog-inspired metal akin to artists like PERIPHERY, who have been an influence on the band. Subtle key and tempo changes make for a dynamic listening experience and again, this is a band on point. Lead single "Giddy-Up" has some incredible pop-hooks allowing for a chorus that'll find itself stuck in your head or days, while the solo here is rich in emotion, you can feel a passion in their playing that can't be faked.
Tracks like "Universe" and "The Valeyard" bare resemblance to influences like SOILWORK for example the way they combine brutality with easy on the ears harmony, while at the other end of the spectrum, "No Cliche" is a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek ballad, showing the guys have a good sense of humour to boot, lyrically it's very amusing; "Life is no cheesy love song, so much should be clear, but if this were a cliche love song a guitar solo would come in right here", before we finish up on "Luminous Beings", a slow burner of a track, building up to a powerful crescendo, ending the album on a high note. Selfmachine may be in the wool capital of the Netherlands but they are far from sheep, mindlessly following the herd. Sure, their sound can be categorized by means of their influences but here they've got enough originality and quality to stand out, this is a strong album...Selfmachine are a well oiled unit and have passed this M.O.T. with flying colours...now...where's my copy of Contra...[8]
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