Rise of the Great Machine
| Rise of the Great Machine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Supermachiner | ||||
| Released | 2000 | |||
| Recorded | 1994–2000 | |||
| Studio | GodCity Studio | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 60:33 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Kurt Ballou | |||
| Supermachiner chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Scene Point Blank |    [1] |
| Stereo Killer | 4/5 [2] |
Rise of the Great Machine is the debut and only studio album by the experimental rock project Supermachiner. It was released in 2000, through Undecided Records. The album features artwork created by Jacob Bannon.
Writing and recording
"In 1994, we started experimenting with this and people [in Boston] would be like what the hell are you doing? We were trying to get really simple, powerful songwriting down, crafting a more experimental, minimalist kind of writing, and it was just a unique approach at the time."
Writing for the album began in 1994 and soon after became a collection of four track recordings, however the project remained inactive for a number of years. When Converge had about six months of down time as the band searched for a drummer, Jacob Bannon and Ryan Parker found the time to resurrect the project. They entered GodCity Studios with Kurt Ballou in the winter of 1999, to take on the piles of old four track tapes they had. During the sessions, Ballou contributed a great deal to the album material both as an engineer and musician.[4][5]
Bannon stated in an interview that many of the songs off Converge's Jane Doe came from Supermachiner, the project was claimed to inspire Jane Doe's experimental side.[3] The songs "Jane Doe" and "Phoenix in Flight" were initially intended for the Supermachiner but Bannon thought "it made sense for Converge to play them."[3]
Release
The original Rise of the Great Machine CD was released by Undecided Records in 2000 (now out of print). The album was reissued two times after the original release. The first reissue was in 2004, released by Icarus Records a sub-section of Deathwish Inc, this version was limited to 50 copies and was only made available for the Converge "You Fail Me 2k4 tour". The second reissue was in 2008, released by the E-Vinyl label in France, it was released as a one time pressing as a deluxe double vinyl, limited to 1000 copies, with new artwork which would go on to be a similar style to the artwork used on Rust.
Musical style and theme
The music was much different than Bannon's band Converge, having more in common with influences Swans, Bauhaus, and others.[4][5] The lyrical content is built around the rise of technology and the death of the individual.[6]
Rust
| Rust | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compilation album by Supermachiner | ||||
| Released | March 16, 2009 | |||
| Studio | GodCity Studio | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
114:44 60:33 (disc 1) 54:11 (disc 2) | |||
| Label | Deathwish | |||
| Producer | Kurt Ballou | |||
| Supermachiner chronology | ||||
| ||||
8 years after the release of Rise of the Great Machine, Deathwish Inc. announced the release of Rust, a 30 track double CD that featured remastered versions of the Rise of the Great Machine tracks along with b-sides of forgotten songs and additional audio experiments done by the band.[7] Rust was released on March 16, 2009.[8]
Track listing
All lyrics written by Jacob Bannon; all music composed by Supermachiner.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rise of the Great Machine" | 2:31 |
| 2. | "Flight of Vultur" | 0:44 |
| 3. | "I Am Legend" | 4:31 |
| 4. | "Declaration One" | 2:12 |
| 5. | "Above You" | 1:11 |
| 6. | "The War We'll Never Win" | 2:58 |
| 7. | "Vicious Circles" | 1:04 |
| 8. | "By the Roadside" | 6:01 |
| 9. | "I Am Oblivion" | 2:08 |
| 10. | "Treading in the Wake of It All" | 5:15 |
| 11. | "Below You" | 4:03 |
| 12. | "Bitter Cold" | 6:33 |
| 13. | "A New Day" | 1:06 |
| 14. | "A New Loss" | 3:18 |
| 15. | "Fireflies Light the Way" | 4:40 |
| 16. | "Remember My Name" | 4:37 |
| 17. | "A New Precipice Before Us" | 1:18 |
| 18. | "Declaration Two" | 4:11 |
| 19. | "Reign of the Great Machine" | 2:12 |
| Rust (disc two) | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 20. | "Hearts Degrade / We Rust" | 4:19 |
| 21. | "Pick Up the Pieces (Driven Version)" | 4:52 |
| 22. | "Diamond Bullet" | 8:29 |
| 23. | "Declaration (Disrupted Version)" | 2:56 |
| 24. | "Slow Is the Pace of Burden" | 7:23 |
| 25. | "Grant Me To the Strength" | 5:02 |
| 26. | "Our Ground Is Sour" | 2:31 |
| 27. | "Memoriale Rituum" | 2:30 |
| 28. | "Avalanche" | 4:36 |
| 29. | "Pick Up the Pieces (Broken Version)" | 4:47 |
| 30. | "End of the Line" | 6:46 |
Notes
- Track 13 "A New Day" is mislabeled "A New Day A New Loss" on some issues of the album. As a result, track 14 received the name of track 15 and track 15 received the name of track 16 and so on throughout the track listing, leaving the final track to be named "Last".
- Disc one of Rust is a reissue of Rise of the Great Machine.
Personnel
Supermachiner
- Jacob Bannon – vocals, guitar, electronics
- Ryan Parker – vocals, bass, electronics
Additional musicians
- Seth Bannon – percussion, electronics
- Kurt Ballou – guitar, saxophone, electronics
- Akina Kawauchi – violin
Production and recording
Artwork
- Jacob Bannon – design
References
- ↑ "Album review: Supermachiner – Rise of the Great Machine (Reissue)". Scene Point Blank. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- ↑ "Supermachiner - 'Rise Of The Great Machine' Review". Stereokiller.com. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- 1 2 3 "Converge Have Innovation Through Suffering". Retrieved 2017-02-02.
- 1 2 "Jacob Bannon". jacobbannon.com. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
- 1 2 "Deathwish Estore: Supermachiner "Rise Of The Great Machine" Imported 2XLP". store.deathwishinc.com. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
- ↑ Inc, Deathwish. "Supermachiner "Rust"". Deathwish Inc. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- ↑ "Deathwish Estore: Supermachiner "Rust" 2XCD". store.deathwishinc.com. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
- ↑ "Rust, by Supermachiner". Wear Your Wounds. Retrieved 2017-02-02.