Damn the Machine “s/t” CD

I wrote about Damn the Machine's lone self-titled CD many years ago on the first version of my site (in fact, if I'm not mistaken, one of the "reviews" on Amazon.com lifts what I said word for word), and as far as I'm concerned it still remains one of the most criminally underrated albums that's ever been released. If you didn't know, Damn the Machine was formed by Chris Poland (with his brother Mark on drums) several years after his departure from Megadeth, and this disc came out in 1993 on A&M Records. One of my best friends introduced me to this band shortly after the album was released, and I distinctly remember that despite his raves, I hated it. I bought a used copy of the CD for a couple bucks, but I couldn't stand the vocals and just didn't "get" the overall tone of the music. It's heavy, but it's not really metal, and I guess teenage me just didn't know what to make of it at first. But the disc stayed in a "limbo" box, and I revisited it every six months or so. Then, at some point within the following couple of years, it finally clicked.

Listening to it now, I honestly don't know what the hell I was hearing back then, 'cause I love it. I guess I can still understand how the vocals might take some getting used to, and there are definitely some quirky little oddball riffs to be found here and there, but... everything about the entire album is fuckin' incredible. It's just this weird fusion of jazzy progressive rock with hints of metal thrown in. And the recording's a little strange, too! The hard-panned guitars each have their own unique tones throughout, pretty much always playing off of one another and additionally interacting with the plunky and prominent bass runs, and the blend of unusual tones/textures creates this odd, "naturally unnatural" atmosphere that really works with the creativity of the arrangements. But for all the artistry and complexities (both subtle and overt) that are present, the record's also packed with solid songs. The quality of the musicianship yields some absolutely beautiful clean passages and fluid soloing, not to mention loads of killer vocal harmonies and memorable hooks.

While I wouldn't call the album wildly diverse as a whole, it's far from one-sided, and the band would've had an impressively wide range of styles to continue exploring had they pressed on. But sadly, an apparent lack of label support led the band to call it a day all too soon. According to Wikipedia they toured Europe with Dream Theater, which makes sense, but... hitting North America with Voivod, Flotsam and Jetsam, and Excel? In 1993? That's... perhaps a little wacky, and probably didn't do the band any favors. But hey, that's life, I guess, and regardless, this is such a great record. I know there are still more people out there that need to check this shit out...

Damn the Machine "The Mission"
Damn the Machine "Countryside"

I can't believe this thing isn't even available on iTunes or anything like that!? But as is often the case with out of print unsung classics, you can find used copies on Amazon.com for a few bucks or less, so grab one while you can if you like what you hear. I won't be surprised if it never gets reissued, and one day it'll probably be sought after enough to fetch unreasonable prices...

Get It

Amazon.com