Review by Richard Henry for MPM
Third album for these guys and we have a change of personnel, with singer Robert Mason leaving and Joel Hoekstra’s 13 singer Girish Pradhan taking over on the vocals, the rest of the group is Steve Brown on Drums, Jeff Pilson on bass and George Lynch on guitars, looking forward to this one, the last two releases were excellent!
1- Black Hole Extinction – Thats almost like a Black sabbath style riff till the outside guitar come in with a spoken vocal, then the drums change, and some dissonant guitars start to build, singer Girish immediately makes his presence known, imagine Stu Block aggression crossed with a classic smooth voice and that’s what you have, driving mid paced double bass kicking in over a driving riff and a huge chorus kicks in, nice mid-section before the solo, there are some players who you just know with a few notes and George is one of them, real fire in that solo as well but in between the licks is always the sense of melody, nice little breakdown after the solo with more spoken vocal, before we are into the chorus again, great opener for the album!
2- Silent Winter – Now if there is ever a signature opening part, it’s that, clean guitars and a guitar melody over the top, have heard that more than a few times, oh yes that’s another real driving riff and really cracks on, fantastic pre chorus and lovely harmony vocals, great chorus as well, nice use again of the harmony vocals, just love how aggressive this one is so far, the riff before the solo is excellent when it all breaks down, to say George is on fire so far on this is an understatement, that’s a savage solo from Mr. Lynch, lovely harmony part right at the end of it, back into the chorus again, love it, another absolutely class track!
3-Killer of the Night – Threes no letting up in tempo, it’s another driving riff to start this one, breaks down into the verse with clean guitars and a lovely bass tone and line from Mr. Pilson, the vocals really are on point as well, what a great voice, nice sing along part in the pre chorus be good for live shows, nice change into the middle section where there is an almost Yngwie sounding riff, Wah heavy solo, lots of tapping and pull offs then into melody peppered with licks around it, really a master at work so far, again nice breakdown after the solo, drum beat with cleaner guitars before we crash right into that prechorus but arranged slightly different before it hits that chorus again, another banger!
4 – Hell, or High Water – Quick snare roll and into this one and again we are not slowing down, another up-tempo one, that’s some scream from Girish at the start of this, the verse is more of a blues rockish sort of feel, not as much distortion in the guitars, before they come slamming in again, and that is yet another massive chorus, key change for the middle section and I think I am going to say this in every song, George is playing amazing, short but sweet solo, then into a breakdown and another solo, actually that second one really reminds me of Satriani in phrasing, that’s four slamming tracks in a row!
5- Stand Up – More mid-tempo driver this one but still no drop in energy, this reminds me of the band Skin from the UK for some reason, loving the vocals again, what a chorus, every song has delivered on that from so far, loving the high to gruff vocals and then a little solo between the verse and chorus, this song just has groove for days, that prechorus through is just awesome as it builds into the chorus, really Led Zep in that middle section, that’s a sexy bluesy solo with a little George twist in it as well, then a really sexy breakdown there, then back into that chorus again, we are on another winner on this track!
6- Burning Man – First slower intro, nice guitar line coming in and when the drums come in its a slow groove and you get to hear the depth to Girish yet then it comes into the chorus and he goes up in range and there is so much grit and power there, I am loving this one, it’s like a classic Dokken song only better with the vocal, and that groove as well, then after the chorus the wall of backing vocals come in with a really lovely little guitar figure and it’s just so god damn epic, soaring solo, like the crying notes, the phrasing and tone and then a few runs peppered in there, but just tasty as anything, into the intro clean guitar part and another low vocal before it builds into the chorus groove again, what a track, that’s just outstanding!
7-Shattered Glass Heart – An almost rock n roll sort of riff to the start of this one, driving bass line just keeps it going through the verse, anyone else listen to this and think of Ray Gillen for the vocals, this really reminds me of Badlands, little Van Halen harmonic before the chorus, and as expected the chorus is huge, love that middle eight part after the second chorus, stank face for that solo, really screaming blues solo on that one, tasty is the word for it, some licks in the end, then we come out into a clean guitar break down and some really nice bass work from Jeff, loving that vocal as well then bang into the chorus, 7 for 7 of cracking songs so far!
8-Time – Thats a down and dirty bass tone there, sludgy riff comes in there as well and a few licks over it, then straight away it changes in the verse and gets upbeat with a cool guitar figure being played around almost reminds me of Extreme this one, especially the chorus, just hit me there but i could really hear Gary Cherone singing this one, has that down tuned Van Halen feel to it, lovely middle section with the harmony vocals and an almost Beatles melody, he’s going to talk about the solo again, isn’t he, yes I am, tasty the first half is so tasty and then George pulls out the hard licks in the second half again, then back into that chorus, and a bit of an outro solo as well, nice tapping lick there and some lovely playing to round this one out!
9-Hunted – Keys intro to start this, very Blade Runner and then bang into the riff with a driving bass line and a real Lynch sliding riff, that verse we have heard that clean guitar part more than a few times, as it builds into the chorus we get the backing vocals coming in to fill out the sound a bit, good chorus on this one, then after chorus two we have a break down with keys and defiantly a 60s feeling part to my ears, before we build into the solo which as with every one so far, is just George showing why he is an absolute legend, good track, maybe not as strong as the rest for me?
10-Stranger in the Mirror – Now that is sludgy, real just heavy groove to the start of this one, then it just hits a classic pumping 80s bassline with the guitar riff driving around it, lovely prechorus with the harmony vocals as it builds into a massive chorus and a really cool guitar part in between the vocal lines continuing on the melody, nice solo in between that and the second verse, I like the change in feel between the two parts, then the bass kicks in after the second chorus and a really nice vocal part over the top of it, the vocals are absolutely stunning on this album for sure, another beautifully crafted solo, lots of feel and plenty on show in melody and technique, just absolute class again!
11-Into the Blazing Sun – Almost like an Iron Maiden Ish feel is the first thing I thought, just to hat verse riff, its short sharp and to the point this one, just over two mins long and it’s just full of harmony vocals and hooks, really upbeat sort of feel to it as well and a fitting track to close the album with!
9.5 out of 10
That is some of the best playing i have heard from George and I have been listening to him for a long time, the songs are excellent, the hooks are there in every song, the playing, the vocals everything is on point, every song is an absolute banger for me, Hunted was good but for me was the only one I didn’t immediately love hence the 9.5 and not a 10, but that’s just my opinion, go buy it, don’t stream it, go buy it, great album!!!
The End Machine are: George Lynch ,Girish Pradhan ,Steve Brown ,Jeff Pilson
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