Search - Machine Men :: Elegies

Awesome album if you love Maiden

Ben Vokes | Pittsburgh, PA | 01/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Loved these guys from their first album and their 2nd album is just as good! If you are a fan of Iron Maiden/Queensryche and the like, get this album, i promise you wont be disappointed!"

Killer album/Killer band: great blend of classic metal vibe

R. Cashman | Plymouth, MA USA | 08/14/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm amazed (judging by the very few reviews of their CD's on Amazon) that more US metal fans have not picked up on Machine Men. Friends, this is not your garden variety classic/power metal by guys who've been toiling around the scene since the mid 90's, lamenting how they missed out on the 80's golden age of metal and trying to recreate that wheel. You can tell this Finnish band is young, passionate and has a real edge.



Clearly influenced by Iron Maiden's entire catalogue, by Queensryche's classic, self-titled EP and 1st 2 full length albums (The Warning & Rage For Order), and very much by Bruce Dickinson's 2 pre-Maiden reunion masterworks (Accident of Birth & The Chemical Wedding), Machine Men evoke everything great about those bands and those albums, but they do not simply regurgitate the sounds of the past. In fact they distill them into an impressively crafted and refreshingly tight and quick-hitting selection of songs that rips through its 40 minute plus running time in a way that their primary influences, frankly, haven't done in years.



Where Machine Men excel is in brevity, melody---with no lack of power and heaviness---and incredibly memorable refrains and choruses. Elegies is a fine mix of crackling, fast-paced numbers with great Maiden-esque harmony guitar breaks, tense, driving mid-paced numbers, and a couple of pretty epic slower numbers that pack a surprising emotional punch and compositional prowess while still being quite economical---the album's longest track clocks in at a little over 6 minutes. Kind of takes you back to the "Iron Maiden" and "Killers" albums when Maiden used to pack all of those cool nuances and clever instrumental breaks into a catchy 3 minute song delivered with that almost punk edginess of their youth. I'm not saying Machine Men comes close to matching those classics, but they have captured a similar vibe on Elegies, albeit with a more polished, modern production.



As for vocalist Antony, at times he certainly does sound A LOT like a young Bruce Dickinson (Machine Men apparently started out as an Iron Maiden tribute band), but for me that quickly dissipates the more you listen to these songs and he definitely puts his own stamp on the music. Regardless of the similarity, Antony has a heck of a voice, and he also weaves in a more cynical, haunting---even gothic---sensibility to his singing and lyrics which only serves to further distinguish Machine Men from their primary influences.



If you like this band's influences, and you are someone who listens to more than strictly the classics and appreciates newer bands, then I can't imagine how you would not find A LOT to like on Elegies. In fact I bet it will grab and hold you the same way it grabbed me. I expect to hear a lot more from this band in the years to come."

Best Dickinson solo album that he didn't make

Hellion Zephreid | Pittsburgh | 04/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The vocalist sounds very similar to Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson. The music is heavy but not as heavy as Maiden. A very pleasant listen. Any time a vocalist can make the songs his by his voice and phrasing, you have a winner. This release is a winner."