Machine by The Bug
The sound of machines cumming
On tenth album Machine, Kevin Richard Martin draws together the twelve strongest tracks from his recent series of bass-rattling mutations as The Bug, with an instrumental release for metal label Relapse. Citing the Macro Dub Infection manifesto he wrote in 1995 (via the liner notes for a compilation of the same name) as his foundation, his intention for Machine was 'to break bodies and test rigs'. He's been successful, this is arresting stuff.
Comprising Dread Techno rhythms (think JK Flesh) and monolithic bass riffs, the appeal of tracks like Buried (Your Life is Short) to metalheads is understandable. But Machine is all about the bass. Dense and crushing bass. Importantly though, the bass pressure never leaves you edgy and claustrophobic like Shackleton. It's a fuzzier bass, one that besieges rather than infects. Its many blistered shapes may be corrupted by Stygian vapours but the effect is emollient.
Pursuing his mid-90s Dub declaration, Martin incorporates a variety of bass-flattering elements like wubs of Dubstep on Floored (Point of Impact) or emotion-wringing slo-mo Acid on Vertical (Never See You Again); with each excursion exploiting the brawn of the beefiest sound system he can find. There's even a military drill on Shafted (Laws of Attraction / Repulsion) which, given the perpetual threat of world war, sends shivers.
As you may expect, going from 21 tracks across the original five EPs to a dozen, there's no filler, so picking points of perfect pummelling is painless. For example, the opening echoey chords of Hypnotised (F-cked up) is like a balm before the cathartic grinding of Dub Techno builds. The sustained ascending/descending motif, a technique often heard in films to signify impending doom (Doodlebugs anyone?), is utilised on several tracks like Bodied (Send For The Hearse) and Inhuman (Let Machines Do The Talking). The bass drum programming throughout is impeccable, my fav example is the monstrous rhythmical thump on Floored (Point of Impact). And the loaded track titles offer context with a single word state, open for interpretation, followed by intention (or clarification) in parenthesis.
While fleeting moments of light appear in the form of bludgeoning melody, Machine is a dark ride. If nothing else, you can hear the sound of machines cumming.