Machine is the second studio album from the American industrial metal band Static-X, released on May 22, 2001 and recorded at Studio 508 (Los Angeles, California). It is the album in which Tripp Eisen contributed guitars. When compared to the band's other albums, Machine features a lot more electronics and industrial effects, and much more screamed vocals from Wayne Static (as opposed to the use of clean vocals sprinkled around other albums, and "Cold" had the use of clean vocals).
Album information
Machine in some ways can be viewed as the bands darkest album; songs like "Permanence", "Cold" and the title track "Machine" have a darker more intense feel to them than any on the previous album Wisconsin Death Trip.
The song "Black and White" provided the album's first single and music video, and later a second single would be found in "This Is Not". The song "Cold" also had a video made for it, and tied in with the film Queen of the Damned. It was featured on the aforementioned film's soundtrack album, as was the exclusive "Not Meant for Me", performed by Wayne Static. The song "Anything but This", a bonus track from the Japanese version, is also found on the Resident Evil soundtrack.
Reception
Critical reaction to the album was mixed,the most positive reviews came from Rolling stone NME and Drowned in sound. Terry Bezer of Drowning Sound in his review stated 'this is Nu-metal brutality at its finest, each track chugging along with all the finesse of a bulldozer and 'It is impossible to put into words just how much Static X have progressed since their last effort. True enough, it’s not the most original of sounds (think Ministry crossed with Slipknot) but it does have all the enthusiasm of a bull charging for El Matador’s red cloth and twice the power., fan reaction was mostly positive as well. Despite the mixed reviews, Machine sold around 500,000 copies in the USA, making it the band's second most successful album (after Wisconsin Death Trip). It is often regarded as the band's heaviest studio album.
Production
In the unreleased Static-X DVD Where the Hell Are We and What Day Is It... This Is Static-X, it was commented that the songs for this album would have guitar solos; however, this was not the case.
The opening sample of the track "A Dios Alma Perdida", a synthetic arrangement with a filtered voice speaking in what sounds at times like English (notably closing with an eerie "It's me!"), is from the 1978 film Laserblast. This sample is an abbreviated version of a conversation between the aliens in that movie.
Comic book
A comic book series was created by Chaos! Comics entitled "Static-X Machine." Only one volume was printed as Chaos! declared bankruptcy shortly after its release. The comic was packaged with a CD containing one track, "This Is Not (Live)," as well as multimedia content featuring back stage interviews with the band and a live music video of "This Is Not" from the 2002 Machine tour.
Track listing
|
|
| 1. |
"Bien Venidos" |
0:21 |
| 2. |
"Get to the Gone" |
2:49 |
| 3. |
"Permanence" |
4:01 |
| 4. |
"Black and White" |
3:50 |
| 5. |
"This Is Not" |
2:57 |
| 6. |
"Otsego Undead" |
3:29 |
| 7. |
"Cold" |
3:40 |
| 8. |
"Structural Defect" |
3:39 |
| 9. |
"Shit In a Bag" |
4:21 |
| 10. |
"Burn to Burn" |
4:17 |
| 11. |
"Machine" |
3:27 |
| 12. |
"A Dios Alma Perdida" |
5:58 |
Total length: |
42:55 |
|
|
|
| 13. |
"Anything but This" |
4:03 |
| 14. |
"Sweat of the Bud" (Live) |
3:24 |
Chart positions
- Album
|
- Singles
| Year |
Song |
Chart |
Peak
position |
|---|
| 2001 |
"Black and White" |
UK Singles Chart[10] |
65 |
| Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[12] |
35 |
| "This Is Not" |
36 |
| 2002 |
"Cold" |
29 |
|
|
Personnel
References
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| | | | Studio albums | |
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| | Compilation albums | |
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| | Video albums | |
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| | Extended plays | |
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| | Singles | |
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| | Related articles | |
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