Any other fans of the epic nineties band The God Machine here?
For those not knowing the band...
The God Machine started off as Society Line in San Diego, California, US. After a while their keyboard player and occasional vocalist, Robin Proper-Sheppard, became increasingly unhappy with life in California and relocated to New York. Living in a very unsafe area, he was forced to stay inside many nights and practised intensively on guitar while there. After half a year he proposed his band mates in San Diego to reform and move the band to NYC. All but one agreed and thus the band relocated to New York: Robin took vocal duties and lead guitar, Jimmy Fernandez took duties on bass, while Ronald Austin was on drums. In NY they however also felt uncomfortable and in an impulsive decision they decided to use their last few dollars and fly to London. With less than 100 GBP each and only two guitars in their bags they left the States off to England. They found themselves busking on the streets of Amsterdam for a short while as well before ending up in a squat with no electricity or water in a London suburb for a year. It was there The God Machine took its final form as they used the situation they were in to intensively practice in the basement of the squat. After a year they were given the chance to release an EP, Purity.
Purity was a 9 minute song with a very long instrumental intro before a wall of screaming guitars took over with gloomy lyrics ; cimbals and cello made the whole song an overwhelming trip. The band, helped by their intensive live shows, developped an underground following in London and soon signed for a bigger label.
Their debut record Scenes from The Second Storey was full of songs that can best be described as a heavier version of Tool but equally complex and maybe even more intense. Very lengthy tracks (such as the 16 minute long "Seven") with complex rhythms, sometimes very eerie silent ballads, sometimes very heavy guitars and screaming vocals, with noise structures and samples all over it. Lyrically the songs were mostly gloomy. A journalist described it quite well: "The God Machine pull up a huge wall of noise, then to break it with an even louder and bigger force".
The second album, "Last Laughter In a Place of Dying" was recorded mostly during a short stay in Prague. Just before the final mixing, bass player Jimmy suddenly felt unwell and was taken to hospital in a comatose condition. He died the same day of what appeared to be a brain tumor. Devastated to lose a close friend after all they've been through, Robin and Ronald could not choose other than to call it an end, as they considered it inappropriate to just replace Jimmy by a new bass player. Last Laugh In A Place Of Dying was released as second and final God Machine record and brought even more complex lyrics about the human psyche, sometimes very monotome ballads ("In Bad Dreams"), sometimes tribal drums in a very lengthy epic ("The Hunter"), sometimes the same screaming guitars as in the first record (eg "The Tremelo Song" or "The Flower Song").
Since the forced end of the GM, Robin founded a new band called Sophia who sound much more low key and introspective, sometimes even acoustic, but with the same poetic yet sad lyrics that also were typical of God Machine. Ronald Austin produces films nowadays. Both of them never relocated back to America and are still living in London.
I knew Sophia a bit and while their songs do appeal to me, it wasn't until I heard the God Machine that I was totally overwhelmed. Purity to me is like 9 minutes of musical perfection, both lyrically and musically. The song blows me away no matter how often I hear it. I quickly absorbed the entire discography and would consider myself a GM fan, unfortunately one who will never have the honour to see them live due to the tragic death of the bass player. The band inspired me for my own writings though and I will treasure the music they left us for as long as I can.
Be very careful with your records if you do own them, as due to a copyright dispute with the old record company, the God Machine records are out of print and extremely hard to find (unless you wish to pay 150 dollars on Ebay). I am lucky to have a copy of Scenes From The Second Storey, still searching a copy of Last Laugh... (luckily I do have the MP3s, but it's not the same as holding a real disk in your hand)
Any other fans of this epic band?
If I show you the truth, will you show me the beauty?
If I show you the pain, will you show me purity?
If I show you the scars, will you show me yours?
If I show you the scars, will you show me yours?
It's the same all over...
Same all over...
You were never there...
PS: while far from metal, Sophia is also worth checking. Anything Robin does somehow reaches for my emotions. I do prefer God Machine's intensity, but some Sophia songs are still extremely good as well (eg Something, Oh My Love, So Slow, ...).
For those not knowing the band...
The God Machine started off as Society Line in San Diego, California, US. After a while their keyboard player and occasional vocalist, Robin Proper-Sheppard, became increasingly unhappy with life in California and relocated to New York. Living in a very unsafe area, he was forced to stay inside many nights and practised intensively on guitar while there. After half a year he proposed his band mates in San Diego to reform and move the band to NYC. All but one agreed and thus the band relocated to New York: Robin took vocal duties and lead guitar, Jimmy Fernandez took duties on bass, while Ronald Austin was on drums. In NY they however also felt uncomfortable and in an impulsive decision they decided to use their last few dollars and fly to London. With less than 100 GBP each and only two guitars in their bags they left the States off to England. They found themselves busking on the streets of Amsterdam for a short while as well before ending up in a squat with no electricity or water in a London suburb for a year. It was there The God Machine took its final form as they used the situation they were in to intensively practice in the basement of the squat. After a year they were given the chance to release an EP, Purity.
Purity was a 9 minute song with a very long instrumental intro before a wall of screaming guitars took over with gloomy lyrics ; cimbals and cello made the whole song an overwhelming trip. The band, helped by their intensive live shows, developped an underground following in London and soon signed for a bigger label.
Their debut record Scenes from The Second Storey was full of songs that can best be described as a heavier version of Tool but equally complex and maybe even more intense. Very lengthy tracks (such as the 16 minute long "Seven") with complex rhythms, sometimes very eerie silent ballads, sometimes very heavy guitars and screaming vocals, with noise structures and samples all over it. Lyrically the songs were mostly gloomy. A journalist described it quite well: "The God Machine pull up a huge wall of noise, then to break it with an even louder and bigger force".
The second album, "Last Laughter In a Place of Dying" was recorded mostly during a short stay in Prague. Just before the final mixing, bass player Jimmy suddenly felt unwell and was taken to hospital in a comatose condition. He died the same day of what appeared to be a brain tumor. Devastated to lose a close friend after all they've been through, Robin and Ronald could not choose other than to call it an end, as they considered it inappropriate to just replace Jimmy by a new bass player. Last Laugh In A Place Of Dying was released as second and final God Machine record and brought even more complex lyrics about the human psyche, sometimes very monotome ballads ("In Bad Dreams"), sometimes tribal drums in a very lengthy epic ("The Hunter"), sometimes the same screaming guitars as in the first record (eg "The Tremelo Song" or "The Flower Song").
Since the forced end of the GM, Robin founded a new band called Sophia who sound much more low key and introspective, sometimes even acoustic, but with the same poetic yet sad lyrics that also were typical of God Machine. Ronald Austin produces films nowadays. Both of them never relocated back to America and are still living in London.
I knew Sophia a bit and while their songs do appeal to me, it wasn't until I heard the God Machine that I was totally overwhelmed. Purity to me is like 9 minutes of musical perfection, both lyrically and musically. The song blows me away no matter how often I hear it. I quickly absorbed the entire discography and would consider myself a GM fan, unfortunately one who will never have the honour to see them live due to the tragic death of the bass player. The band inspired me for my own writings though and I will treasure the music they left us for as long as I can.
Be very careful with your records if you do own them, as due to a copyright dispute with the old record company, the God Machine records are out of print and extremely hard to find (unless you wish to pay 150 dollars on Ebay). I am lucky to have a copy of Scenes From The Second Storey, still searching a copy of Last Laugh... (luckily I do have the MP3s, but it's not the same as holding a real disk in your hand)
Any other fans of this epic band?
If I show you the truth, will you show me the beauty?
If I show you the pain, will you show me purity?
If I show you the scars, will you show me yours?
If I show you the scars, will you show me yours?
It's the same all over...
Same all over...
You were never there...
PS: while far from metal, Sophia is also worth checking. Anything Robin does somehow reaches for my emotions. I do prefer God Machine's intensity, but some Sophia songs are still extremely good as well (eg Something, Oh My Love, So Slow, ...).
