Dangerdog Music Reviews :: © 1999 - 2025 Craig S Hartranft :: All Rights Reserved
No part of this this website, including design and music reviews,
may be reproduced in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the publisher.
CELEBRATING 18 YEARS!
- New Music Reviews
- |
- Archives
- |
- News
- |
- Submissions
- |
- About
- |
- |
New Music Reviews, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Progressive Metal, AOR, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal
Recent Reviews
January 2025
- Bonfire: Higher Ground
- The Big Deal: Electrified
- Landfall: Wide Open Sky
December 2024
- After Lapse: Pathways
- Illusion Force: Halfana
- Powell-Payne: Voilá
November 2024
- Sunstorm: Restless Fight
- Storace: Crossfire
- Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
- Lionville: Supernatural
- Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
- Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
- Lonerider: Down In The Dust
- Seventh Crystal: Entity
- Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
- Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
- Impellitteri: War Machine
- Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter
October 2024
- Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
- DGM: Endless
- Daytona: Garder la Flamme
- Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
- Frost*: Life In The Wires
- Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
- Fans Of The Dark: Video
- Radioactive: Reset
- House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
- Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire
September 2024
- Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
- Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
- Eclipse: Megalomanium II
- SteelCity: Reverence
- Hydra: ReHydrated
- Heartwind: III
- Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
- Find Me: Nightbound
- The Nail: The Nail
- Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
- Stryper: When We Were Kings
- Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
- Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
- Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly
Maschine: Rubidium
Maschine: Rubidium
Melodic Progressive Rock
4.0/5.0
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Inside Out Music
by Craig Hartranft, 08.07.2013
Maschine was developed several years ago by guitarist Luke Machin at the Brighton Institute Of Modern Music. Machin along with bassist Daniel Mash earned their prog rock chops while serving several with prog titans The Tangent. Actually, it was Tangent's Andy Tillison who gave the band the push to Inside Out Music. Rubidium is Maschine's debut album.
Maschine: welcome to the maschine.
If you're familiar with The Tangent, It Bites, or basic UK or European progressive rock, you'll appreciated and enjoy Rubidium. Much of the music for the album has been stirring around in the mind of Machin for many years, sometimes finding outlets in previous outfits. But they have been performing live for several years as well.
From the start, listening to The Fallen, you'll discover that this band is quite talented and creative. It's a tight number, with heavy crunchy riffage lightened by nice synthesizer and guitar solos. It also falls completely in the classic melodic progressive rock genre, as does the entire album. The title track and Cubixstro follow and, while seeming to sound similar, seem more to compliment each as if they were written as two parts of one song. The former has that heavy groove again, but can sound somber at times. The latter lighter, in parts almost flirtatious.
Curiously, Invincible, in contrast to the name, also sheds some of the heaviness for more playfulness. Machin has one his liveliest guitar solos within. Venga may be the one song that is less prog and more straight hard rock, yet elements of technicality remain. The album comes with two bonus tracks, Chains and Reach Out, the former with a smooth mellow movement, the latter bouncy and quick at times. Another interesting element is the character of Machin's voice. While forward, it's never forceful having this strange inherent gentleness at times.
Rubidium is solid first effort for Maschine, an album of creative and entertaining prog showing promise of more good things to come. Hopefully, they will have success so than get some decent artwork for the next album. Recommended.
MASCHINE - The Fallen (EDIT) (OFFICIAL ALBUM TRACK)
Tweet
Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.
In Short
Rubidium is solid first effort for Maschine, an album of creative and entertaining prog showing promise of more good things to come.
Find A Review
Alphabetical Index
New & Notable
The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]