MACHINEMADE GOD – Masked

Machinemade God is a German Metalcore band that was formed in 2003. They released their debut album The Infinity Complex in 2006, an album that was produced by Jacob Bredahl (vocalist of Hatesphere). Since the beginning in 2003, Machinemade God has supported well-known bands like God Forbid, Caliban, Hatebreed, As I Lay Dying, and Evergreen Terrace. In 2007, they also played at the Summer Breeze Open Air festival in Germany.

With their new record, Masked, Machinemade God claim to have taken a big step forward. They proclaimed “… many bands repeat themselves with each record, especially if the last one was successful. Some bands develop further, and that’s exactly what Machinemade God have done with Masked.” They are actually right in that assumption; Masked is the record that will separate Machinemade God from the never-ending stream of mediocre Metalcore bands.

The opening track “Forgiven” starts off with a Symphonic intro that’s being accompanied by a slow and heavy riff. Suddenly, drummer Sven Kallinowski speeds things up a bit and Florian Velten enters with the Metalcore trademark vocals. The song is extremely catchy during the chorus parts with Symphonic and clean-vocals. There’s also a really good guitar solo on this track. “Forgiven” is undisputed the best song on the album.

“Voices” is a more brutal song, lead by heavy double bass drums and galloping riffs and an occasional squealing guitar. Once again, the listener is subjected to a few nice transitions between Velten’s screaming/growling vocals and Sky Hoff’s clean-vocals. The surprising elements on the record are the two slow and melancholy instrumentals: “Who, If Not Us?” and “And Even Though You’re Gone…” These two songs sound much like something out of Opeth’s Damnation album, with similarities in the wailing guitars and the plaintive melody.

“Place Taken” is proof of Machinemade God’s style being Melodic Metalcore. There are some keyboard elements that really make the song more powerful, in addition to typical Metalcore elements like breakdowns, where Kallinowski halves the beat and makes the song wirey, slow, and incredibly heavy.

The variation of the album is quite amazing. You get everything from songs like “Forgiven” that mixes a lot of different styles, to melancholy instrumentals with acoustic elements, and fast, energetic standard Metalcore songs like “For Those Who Care.” This mixture of songs results in an album that has melodic elements combined with brutal rhythms and brutal vocals.

The producer for this album is Machinemade God’s own guitarist Sky Hoff. He has done a great job, and the experimentation with orchestra arrangements, choirs, and acoustic guitars really paid off for Machinemade God. Overall, this is a great Metalcore album with lots of variations and Masked is a recommended purchase.

Lineup

Sven Luppus – Bass
Florian Velten – Vocals
Sven Kallinowski – Drums
Marc Niedersberg – Guitar
Sky Hoff – Guitar / Clean-vocals