God Machine > Reviews (1)

Two studio albums, a smattering of singles and several covers. That's all there is, pretty much, in the discography of one of the finest and most original rock bands of all time.

As usual, no doubt everyone will simply be thinking "Who?" If you've been living under a rock through he 90s and 00s, and haven't heard of the other bands I've reviewed such as Soundgarden or Linkin park, then you almost certainly haven't heard of this lot.

The God Machine were a three-piece from the USA who for various reasons ended up playing in this country supporting My Bloody Valentine (oh dear, I can hear that chorus of "Who?" again...) in their tour of 1991. They attracted the interest of a record label (Creation Records) and recorded their first album, "Scenes From the Second Storey" in 1992.

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC IS IT?

A sort of stripped-down arty metal / rock, some tinges of prog-rock and indie in there but not really any guitar solos or anything like that. This is hard, heavy, emotional metal, from a time before that sort of thing became fashionable. (I mean fashionable in the world of rock music, folks- not fashionable as in Top Shop or whatever) And nobody has ever sounded quite like them since.

REALLY? THERE MUST BE SOME BANDS THAT SOUND LIKE THEM.

I can't think of any. The closest comparison I can draw is that they combine the emotion of Tool with the groove of Janes Addiction. There's also a new band called Cave In who sound *slightly* like them- but The God Machine really have carved their own path through history. No one else really comes close.

OKAY... SO THIS ALBUM...

"Scenes from the Second Storey" is pretty epic stuff, at something like 78 minutes long. Aside from a few tracks that could have done with shortening slightly, this is a hell of an album. The standout tracks for me are the minimalist ballad "It's All Over", the upbeat "She Said" and the slightly Middle Eastern sounding "The Desert Song". every song has something to commend it- although a few, as I say, could have done wih shortening slightly. Nevertheless this is a fine debut album.

AND YOU SAID THEY MADE ONE OTHER...

Indeed. Somehow they contrived to make an even darker-sounding second album in 1995. Titled "One Last Laugh in a Place of Dying" (you were warned!), this is in my view the better of the two albums, featuring songs with an achingly simple beauty to them. With The God Machine, less is very much more, and they prove above all else on this album that their engagingly straightforward yet emotionally complex music really is something unique.

The standout tracks on this are probably the chilling "Boy by the Roadside", ("And if you should see me with my face up against the wall, well don't stop to talk"- the vocals in this song really do create an ominous atmosphere), "The Hunter" and the sparse "The Sunday Song" which has an icy minimal feel to it somewhat redolent of latter-day Talk Talk. But my favourite on this album is "Painless", an almost savagely emotional song that somehow sounds a little like a heavier, angrier version of Stone Roses' "I Wanna Be Adored" but still sounds quite unique.

Quote: "And she said life could be painless... I'm sorry but that's not what I've found..."

This is one of the greatest metal albums of all time- it pushes the boundaries, creates new concepts and grows on you the more you listen to it. The God Machine are not a particularly immediate band- but their music becomes something you go back to again and again and again.

NO OTHER RECORDED MATERIAL?

Some rarities and B-sides to singles, which are worth finding. There is one song, "Pictures of a Bleeding Boy" which is a haunting acoustic ballad, that grows from quietly-strummed, understated chords into a glorious, ascending finale that somehow conjures up light, colour, death, water and all sorts of imagery like that. As I said, this for me is a very evocative band.

The band also made a couple of interesting cover versions- most notably a crunchingly heavy rendition of Bauhaus's "Double Dare" (ideally suited to their style), and a surprisingly upbeat and groovy version of KLF's "What Time is Love?" If nothing else it shows a lot of variety in their influences.

SO WHY DID THEY SPLIT UP?

They actually split up before "One Last laugh in a Place of Dying" saw the light of day. Bassist Jimmy Fernandez died of a brain tumour and the band were understandably devastated by his loss, opting to split up.

WHAT ARE THE REMAINING TWO MEMBERS DOING?

Vocalist and guitarist Robin Proper-Sheppard formed a new band, Sophia, a while later, who have brought out three albums to my knowledge. They're good, but they're certainly not God Machine. Sophia are a mostly acoustic, almost country rock band. They're worth checking out, but as I say it's quite a departure rom The God Machine.

Ron Austin (drummer and pianist) is, the last I heard, making and producing films. I think they both live in London- I would love to bump into one of them one day but admittedly that is somewhat unlikely!

Thanks for reading... I know you probably haven't heard of this band so thanks for your patience!