EP REVIEW: Stone Machine Electric – Stone Machine Electric

After the release of their fourth record in April last year, two piece Mark Kitchens and Dub Irvin of STONE MACHINE ELECTRIC dig into their archives and treat the world to two of their very first tracks from original demo Awash in Feedback. It’s a shorter release, but demonstrates something special you might have missed a decade ago.

Grumbling, like the engine of some monstrous industrial machine, a consistent, driven beat tempers through Mushroom Cloud. The layering of guitar after guitar builds into an army of weight behind a single riff, a united mass of axes all looking for their next conquest.

It’s cool, calm and even, but just behind that chilled out vocal is a crazed beast just bursting to get out. This kind of heavy is one best served driving down a dirt road, planes for miles ahead, and nothing to but glorious tearing through the motions of this record. Things get pretty psychedelic and gnarly, dirty guitar bends and blisteringly hot blues infused stoner riff bust through. After an indulgent few minutes of guitar riffing, the focus draws back into the chorus line, that tasty, swirling riff licking round your ears, enticing you in for the next round of bulky, mellow growls.

Walking Among the Blind has a snappier feel, the drums showing some flare against the massive, bassy guitars. It’s such a thick sound from just two guys, the production feels immense, every swing of the melody stomping with more and more groove.

There’s a lot more blues behind this track, and while the vocal isn’t the strongest of the two demonstrated, its lower tones add a lot of authenticity and compliment the fuzz and thunder of the grumbling guitars. Don’t think that there aren’t any soloing moments to enjoy, they’re just more contained and interspersed between the hulking central riffs. Breaking these moments into smaller chunks makes appreciating this very guitar heavy record a much more enjoyable moment, as the trudging doom inspired momentum is complimented by the cutting lead lines that pierce through.

For such a contained experience, it’s a hell of an impression STONE MACHINE ELECTRIC makes in the fourteen minutes or so that elapses on this self-titled record. Considering this is a snippet of the duo from their early days, it’s still as punchy and as ever, and a testament to how hard these guys could stomp even in the beginning.

Rating: 7/10

Stone Machine Electric is out now via Sludgelord Records.

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