Damn the Machine --- Damn the Machine --- 1993 (A&M)
Well, you'd think a side project by a member of Megadeth would be welcomed, wouldn't you? But it seems no-one was interested in a more progressively-leaning band formed by Chris Poland, onetime guitarist for the “answer to Metallica”, who left in 1987. It took him six more years to set this band up, though in the interim he had released one solo album under his own name. Perhaps because it was an instrumental guitar album (never the easiest to sell as a concept, less so when you've been a rather peripheral member of one of the biggest “other” heavy metal bands in the US), or perhaps as a backlash by Megadeth fans, who knows, it never fired the imagination and Poland's next idea was to form his own band.
Fair enough, you would suppose: Dave Mustaine, fired from Metallica, had founded Megadeth, so why
should Poland not be able to do the same? But this was the only album that Damn the Machine recorded, and in a very short time it was clear it was not going to be a big seller, and the label drew support away from the album, leading to the breakup of the band shortly after this self-titled debut was released. Chris tried other projects but eventually settled into a jazz-fusion group, without the rest of the members of DTM.
But did we all dodge a bullet, or was this album a diamond in the rough, an overlooked classic that should have been nurtured, followed up and imitated? Well, let's open those shell-likes and see...
“The mission” opens more like an indie-rock song than a heavy metal one, it's got good tempo but the drumming seems a little lacking, a little thin perhaps. Decent guitar as you would expect, given that Poland is a guitarist, but David Clemmons does not at first at any rate impress me with his vocals. They're not bad, but they're nothing special. So far. Nice bit of laidback guitar halfway through, breaks up the almost punk style of the axework, but it doesn't last and we're back into the stop/start rhythm, then there's a sort of fadeout guitar solo at the end, which seems only to be beginning when it's over, and seems a little pointless.
The guitar is strong and powerful, grinding and angry on “Fall of order”, with the vocals a little better this time, almost as if Clemmons is slowly finding his feet. The drumming from Poland's brother Mark is also getting a little tighter and more solid too, though it still has some way to go before it's the kind of forceful beat you expect from metal (or any) drummers. The lyrics at least are thoughtful and deep, with songs like “Corporate reign”, “Lonesome god” and “Patriot” leaning a little away from the standard rock motif, revealing a more progressive approach to songwriting. I'm not a huge fan of Metallica and know little of Megadeth, so can't say if this is the sort of thing they usually grapple with in their own lyrics, but I kind of doubt it. Up next, “Corporate reign” is a heavier, slower song, with thick guitar and raspy vocals, but it kind of wanders around looking for an idea, and the drum lead-in to the second verse is nowhere near as powerful or impressive as it by all rights should be. Far better is the menacing bassline from Dave Randi, who does at least seem to know what he's doing. “Honor”, then, has a nice acoustic guitar intro, with atmospheric electric guitar holding the line, and Clemmons puts in a decent performance behind the mike, but so far he's not winning any prizes.
Neither, to be honest, is this album, and “Lonesome god”, “On with the dream” and “Patriot” all sort of slide by in a yawning blur; I can't remember anything about any of them, or even find something decent to comment on. The guitar work is fine yes, but nothing startling, nothing that makes you sit up and take notice, and the vocal just seems to stay mostly the same throughout, not too much in the way of emotion, though maybe I'm doing David Clemmons a disservice and he can sing better than this: we'll see, as we struggle on through the album, of which we're halfway through now.
Nice sort of proggy start to “I will”, and you wonder if the addition of keyboards would have helped Damn the Machine to fill out their sound and realise their vision more successfully? Some of the songs here --- when I notice anything interesting, which is not that often sadly --- sound like they're almost built around a progressive rock or metal idea, in which a keyboard or synthesiser sound should have been dropped, and the guitar work of Poland, good as it is, just isn't equal to the task of building and maintaining every melody. There's a nice blues idea to “Silence”, with some lovely guitar and a half-decent vocal, and to be fair it's probably the best thing on the album so far. That's not saying much, admittedly, but at least there's finally something solid for me to write about.
Excellent guitar solo from Poland it has to be said, and some effective backing vocals: maybe DTM could write good songs when they put their minds to it? Still, “Russians” is unremarkable, and though “Countryside” tries to get across a message about, I think, the plight of the Native Americans, it's just not clear enough, and Clemmons's voice is just not engaging or forceful enough to deliver the message. Kind of reminds me of Kamelot's vocalist on their first two albums: very sub-par. The album finally ends on “Humans”, and all I can say is I'm glad it's over, cos it's been something of an ordeal to get through.
What's left to say? There's no mystery about why this didn't sell, and why DTM had only the one album. It's just simply not good enough. Chris Poland is a decent enough guitarist, certainly, but whatever possessed him to try forming his own band? And where did he get these other guys (other than his brother, who does his best on the drums but really isn't equal to the task)? Was it all put together in a hurry? If so, why? Why not take your time and find the proper mix of musicians, lyrics, themes and expertise, decide which genre (if any) you're going to shoot for, instead of confusing fans of both Metallica and Megadeth? Why not do the job properly? What was the rush?
Questions to which we will probably never have answers, though that won't keep me awake at night.
TRACKLISTING
1. The mission
2. Fall of order
3. Corporate reign
4. Honor
5. Lonesome god
6. On with the dream
7. Patriot
8. I will
9. Silence
10. Russians
11. Countryside
12. Humans