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Dirty Machine – Discord
Zombie Shark Records
Release Date: 26/05/2017
Running Time: 39:14
Review by Dawn “The Metal Priestess” King
9/10
If any of you read my reviews on a regular basis, or, in fact, know me at all, you should know that I am a thrash/traditional heavy metal girl at heart. But, that doesn’t mean I ignore all the other genres of metal music and have lots of other favourites too. One such era of metal that I DID like, and I know a lot of purist metalheads didn’t, was the Nu-Metal phase from the early 2000’s.
Bands such as Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit and Korn would fuse together metal riffs and rap lyrics along with DJ samples, and it really did almost take over the music scene. And still flying the flag for the genre since their formation in 2012, Dirty Machine are a Nu-Metal outfit from Los Angeles, California.
They quickly built up an underground following, especially in the Kansas City area, mainly due to getting regular air play on the leading Kansas City rock station “98.9 The Rock” and headlining the Jägermeister stage at the 2016 Kansas City Rockfest, and have shared the stage with the likes of Ghost, Trivium, SixxAM, Disturbed, Hell Yeah and Alien Ant Farm. They have recently toured with Insane Clown Posse and have also performed with bands such as Adema, HED PE, Motorgrater and Cory Feldman (impressive list I must say!)
They have recently signed a deal with Zombie Shark Records, a new record label from Noah “Shark” Robertson (drummer with Motorgrater, The Browning) and Discord is their debut album. It was produced by Ben Jovi and Dirty Machine at Left Coastal Label Studios, mixed by Arnold “Hedge” Quezeda and Darren Davis at Blunoize Studios, and mastered by Josh Wickman from Dreadcore Productions (King 810, Within the Ruins)
Influenced by the likes of Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Linkin Park, Nonpoint, Mudvayne and Sevendust to name but a few, the band are not afraid to let their influences be known, with a very strong Linkin Park / Disturbed vibe to a number of the tracks.
The modern fusion of the most electrifying elements of Nu-Metal and rap metal is evident from the very first song and it was during this track that I knew I was going to love the album. There is a great sync between the aggressive rapper lines of lead singer David Leach and the cleaner vocals of guitarist and vocalist Darren Davis, and the blazing guitar riffs mixed with the wicked samples of DJ Ecusa make for an awesome sound.
This album has everything a great Nu-Metal album should have, and together with the aggression and attitude this record emits, it takes you right back to the good old days of the metal / DJ / rap combo. I have seen it described as “one of the strongest metal records of 2017” and I can see where the author of that quote is coming from.
This album has a lot to offer for all nu-metal fans and even if you are not a really big fan of the genre, it will have you tapping your fingers and singing along in no time.
The Nu-Metal era has received a lot of criticism over the years, many older metalheads dismissing it as a genre altogether, branding it “new-shit!” but I think, as I do with any other metal genre, it deserves its place in metal history.
Listening to this album in my car made me remember the twenty-something year old me and made me realise just how much I did like the genre. I may be in my early forties now, but I sincerely hope that more bands like Dirty Machine make an entrance back on to the scene again.
We have had the NWOBHM revival, why can’t we have a Nu-Metal one?!
TRACKLISTING:
01. Discord
02. Seeds
03. Self-Made Hero
04. Social Recoil
05. Ecusa’s Nightmare
06. Built 3:32
07. C4 2:45
08. Wonka
09. Refuse to Follow (bonus track)
10. Victory (bonus track)
11. J-Dead (bonus track)
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dawn ‘The Metal Priestess’ King and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to do adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of [user_login] and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.