ALBUM REVIEW: Common Foe – Bad Machines
For Gainsborough’s BAD MACHINES, the beginning is tinged with the bitter taste of departure. Evolving from THEY SAY FALL – who won the now-defunct Red Bull Bedroom Jam competition in 2014, thus securing a spot at Download Festival that year – they repackaged themselves soon after the guitarist Kyle Leeman left to pursue other interests and set about recording their second album, but first under a new moniker. A few weeks before it saw the light of day however, the news broke that vocalist Kehn Gembalczyk would also be taking his leave, his last show being the album’s official launch party tonight in their hometown. As such, debut album Common Foe, released last week independently, serves as the final hurrah before BAD MACHINES stride on into a brave new future.
As far as farewell records go, both Gembalczyk and Leeman – the latter appears on material written and recorded prior to his official exit – they couldn’t have hit the bullseye better. The experience the group have garnered over years of touring and playing together has provided a strong foundation for Common Foe, which belts you around the face from the moment the futuristic ambience of the title track melts seamlessly into El Nuevo, a post-hardcore anthem blending the best of DEFTONES and GLASSJAW in a whirlwind of riffs and mosh-calling. The vocal trade-off between Gembalczyk and second guitarist Brad Bishell is an album strong point, complimenting one another superbly and whoever has done the production deserves a round of drinks at the Sweyn Forkbeard in Gainsborough itself; lush and full, it allows the album to breathe and envelope the listener, drawing them into BAD MACHINES’ world with the minimum of fuss.
Although post-hardcore is the overriding genre at play here, that hasn’t stopped BAD MACHINES from infusing other elements into their own cocktail of sound and style. Dreaming Darkly has a strong punk undertone that drives the track forward and, if you add ‘pop’ to the front of that, the inspiration behind a number of the gang-vocal choruses comes in. There’s also a dash of nu-metal, particularly in the brilliantly named Buff Daddy and A Satire for the World, which is the best track on the album, encompasses all of these and adds a shot of the epic metalcore that ARCHITECTS have so brilliantly delivered on their latest release Holy Hell. The lyrics are also suitably potent, especially when dealing with mental health: Deadlights, a song brought through from the THEY SAY FALL days, sees Gembalczyk sing poignantly ‘Why is it such a chore to force a smile?’, which cuts through like a hot knife through butter to anyone who has experienced the dark pit of depression. Even more emotional is closing track The Key, a story of someone who can’t quite unlock their potential owing to the black cloud that shrouds their mind; it certainly makes for a heavy a very relatable end.
Quite where BAD MACHINES end up after the curtain falls tomorrow night is anyone’s guess, but it would be criminal if this was to be the last of their material to ever see the light of day. This is a young band brimming with talent and if they can kick on from Common Foe by riding the momentum that comes with this, there’s absolutely no limits to what they could achieve.
Rating: 8/10
Common Foe is out now via self release.
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