Customer Reviews

Machina Machines Of God

5 star:		(372)
4 star:		(136)
3 star:		(59)
2 star:		(46)
1 star:		(41)

 

 

Legendary rockers the Smashing Pumpkins were winding down by their fifth album, which was sadly their last as well. Instead of the dark electronic sound of their fourth album, "Machina/The Machines of God" goes sort of hard-rock/industrial, full of thunderous bass and dark songwriting. Too bad it was their swan song.

There was some backlash against "Adore," with its more electronic sound, and so Billy Corgon and Co. went back to the hard rock sound of their past albums. You can hear the determination in the dark, explosive "The Everlasting Gaze," which opens the album on a very strong note. Things get a bit less heavy from there on in, but not much.

The Pumpkins were always good at epic songs, and that kicks in with the "Adore" soundalike "Raindrops + Sunshowers," which is a bit like taking mescaline in a haunted house. The album sags on a few heavier songs in the middle, before kicking back into high gear with the songs like bass-rocker "Imploding Voice" and the otherworldly "The Crying Tree Of Mercury."

Don't expect ballads on this album -- "Machina/The Machines of God" relies on fuzz bass and percussion, giving it a complete hard-rock sound. "With Every Light" is the closest thing it has to a ballad or pop song. As a result, "Machina" has a feeling of overhanging gloom'n'doom, especially when you hear Corgan's amguished songwriting. Atmosphere lies heavy on "Machina."

Not that this album is a complete success -- the metal/industrial sound gets dull in songs like "Heavy Metal Machine." Good luck finding an actual melody in that one -- it sounds like a B-side that was kept in. The problem here is that the Pumpkins were at their best when they did different kinds of songs on a given album; when they do only one kind, it sounds... restricted.

Jimmy Chamberlain returned to the band briefly, and his drumming shines through the murky music, as does the excellent basslines of Melissa Auf Der Maur (both have solo bands now), and Corgan's songwriting still carries emotional and verbal weight. He wasn't quite on peak form, but bad Billy Corgan is still pretty good.

The only problem is Corgan's vocals on the heavier songs. Much is said about his singing skills, but here it's hard to even tell. The Pumpkins frontman's voice can't always rise above the music -- Corgan sometimes sounds like he's drowning in his own bass.

The Smashing Pumpkins never made another record after "Machina/The Machines of God," which is a shame. While one of their weaker creations, it's still a moody, atmospheric and deeply saddening album.

When SP radically changed direction with Adore, people treated the band like they, well, died and started tuning into a new generation of seemingly wannabe artists which are already dying as well. With Machina, Billy Corgan picked himself up with some knoweledge that they were hanging by a thread, the end was near, butknew that Adore couldn't be the way they were going to leave after setting up a good following with Gish, SD, and MC. He succeeded, making this album a major comeback in more ways than one. Jimmy finally returned to the drums after the whole drug/death incident, which, in my mind shows courageousness. D'Arcy left due to some drug problems of her own but that didn't hinder the journey Cogan and company were about to take. To sum up the track layout, it was done fantasically. The Everlasting Gaze basically knocks you on your ass, Stand Inside Your Love brings hardcore listeners back to their early days, The Crying Tree of Mercury stands as one of the most depressing songs they have ever done, and Age of Innocence makes the SP's last gasp count, each lyric confessing what can't be denied with a sad honesty. This is the album to get for all the naysayers who bashed Adore.

MACHINA/The Machines of God has tracks that will shook your seat at least with promising things to come later on, but ends up in monotonous cycle of ad-nauseum until you'll skip the tracks, or has incorporates such melancholy that it drives you off for being too self-indulgent. Has the Pumpkins grew dillusioned of themselves when making this album? Even the B-sides "Judas-O" featured in limited edition issues of their Greatest Hits were plague with such songs. Or Corgan thinks that such concept is fine with him, I can't judge.

The track "The Everlasting Gaze" starts and ends with a bang, a fine tribute to NIN. It hops unto a promising rock fused with club-techno Raindrops+Sunshowers, but it's repetitiveness will drive off even most shallow club music listener, followed by their weakest single and most sappy song ever "Stand Inside Your Love" and rest of the songs don't go so right, as promising as it starts with exception of songs like "Try, Try, Try", excellent Sabbath inspired "Heavy Metal Machine", the gothic "Glass and the Ghost Children" and "The Age of Innocence". Songs such as "The Crying Tree of Mercury" and "Blue Skies Bring Tears" are the most promising songs because they evolve further of Adore-concept songs and yet ruined by mediocrity.

Immedietely, they go out with a whimper. I suppose you can't blame the pressure on the Pumpkins by critics to go back the yonderin' days of Gish and Siamese Dreams ever since their supposed flop Adore. And mind you, Adore is their finest Pumpkins album ever produced. Shows you why you should stick to being yourself.

This CD has to be one of the best CD's ever made. I admit that I am a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan but that's not why I like this CD. To me Billy Corgan is able to place his feelings onto the tracks which makes this is by far the most emotional CD the Pumpkins have ever done, even more the Adore. Its the romantic side of Billy in the sense of loss and longing. Many people don't like this CD as much as older Pumpkins work, because it is different. The song aren't earth moving rock songs with powerful rifts. These songs are soul crashing rock songs. I highly recommend this CD for everyone who is open minded. This is the perfect ending CD for the Pumpkins that leaves the listener satisfied.

You know i`m not dead, i'm just the tears inside your head. Billy man you said it... it is back too old school rocking for the Pumpkins.Music on the Machina album is art-metal, so if you like art metal, you will love the album.Art cover of the album is absolutly amazingly beautiful.Also producer Flood is back, so album sounds a bit like Mellon Collie.Machina starts powerfuly with the Everlasting Gaze (great video).Next one is Raindrops + Sunshowers which has fantastic drumming.Number 3 is the best song on the album Stand Inside Your Love (beautiful lyrics).It is folowed by I of the mourning, a powerfull song with a great riff.Next one is The Sacred and Profane, a song with a nice chorus.Number 6 Try Try Try a peacefull song, sounds something like the Adore songs.Then things move to high gear with Heavy Metal Machine, if you like Nine Inch Nails you will like the song.Number 8, This Time is a strong song, but a little too long.Next one Imploding Voice, hmmmm.... strange, then it gets even more strange with Glass and the Ghost Children, what to say, what to say?You have got to listen to the song, and you will see that it's hard to decribe it with words.Number 11 is a simple song called Wound (nothing special).12 is The Crying Three of Mercury. It's a very slow song, and maybe little boring.13 a bright song With Every Light, a good Pop song.Next one Blue Skies Bring Tears, has got realy special lyrics.The last one is pretty nice.What is wrong with the album? It is tooooo long, only 3 songs go under 4 minutes and Flood used to highly tuned keyboards, which reflects the confusion with the distortion (a lot of it).But all in all another under rateted masterpiece from Smashing Pumpkins; With Machina/ the Machines of God, they proff, that ROCK is not dead, it just smells funny... :)

S.J.

I don't understand how anyone who loved "Gish", "Siamese Dream" or "Mellon Collie" can possibly like this album.

There is precisely one good song on the album: "Heavy Metal Machine". There are two moderately okay songs: the first and second tracks, "The Everlasting Gaze", which is all but ruined near the end by an annoying 10-second rant that is annoying even for Corgan; and "Raindrops and Sunshowers", of which it can just be said that it is unoffensively pleasant.

Virtually ever other track on this album bored me to tears. Jimmy Chamberlain is completely wasted on uninspired beats that sound like they belong in forgotten MTV videos from the 1980s. There are no guitar riffs to send the blood racing and none of the inventiveness and energy that marked the early Pumpkins.

There is nothing here that would even break a Top 20 list of great Pumpkins songs. They were right to quit after this one.

I must admit, this cd really is a mess. Some songs are very awfully written, lets face it, Heavy Metal Machine is a cluttered up song that is distorted beyond all recognition, and ten seconds after the song The Crying Tree Of Mercury comes on, I just feel the urge to SKIP to the next track. Try, Try, Try is sort of catchy, but after awhile, it gets seriously annoying....Now, all the bad is out of the way.

The cd however is the best produced ever from the Pumpkins, everywhere, there is distortion that is well placed, and a hellova lot of synth. These songs wouldn't have been as good without their prodcution, The Everlasting Gaze wouldn't have rocked as hard, and Age Of Innocence wouldn't have had it's charm. Raindrops And Sunshowers, has one catchy beat to it, but however, has a chorus that repeats over and over and etc... Stand Inside Your Love is one of the best songs the Pumpkins have ever released, I Of The Mourning as well, with it's climax that it builds to. Some songs recall Adore, The Sacred And Profane. Also, Glass And The Ghost Children is without doubt the weirdest song that Corgan and crew have released, very interesting lyrics. This cd's strength lies in the lyrics, they always leave you wondering "what is this thing all about? who or what is MACHINA??? how do the lyrics relate to it?" it is a very tough album to crack.

Some Moreof Billy Corgan whining like a panzy!!

For a band that's well known for their beautiful and artistic lyrics, wonderfully written music and having a lead singer with a whiney, but emotional voice, it's pretty difficult for them to put out a bad record. Though many were disapointed with Adore, that was still a good record.

Machina is no exception. The lyrics are as great as ever, with such songs as This Time as proof. The Everlasting Gaze proves that they still had the power to rock out. Glass and the Ghost Children is an awsome song, proving that an 11 minute song can be great when performed by the right musicians.

It's their best album by far, and one I will always love. I will miss my Pumpkins, but Machina was a graceful goodbye.

It's weird and almost kind of sad that an album like Machina got such negative press, if it was rewarded with any press at all. Less than ten years after their first album, they were already considered dinosaurs and were no longer welcome in popular circles at the turn of the millenium.

And as you might have guessed, Machina is an unusal and admirable piece of work. Since Flood is in the producer's chair, Corgan, Iha, and Chamberlain felt up to the task of recapturing their Mellon Collie success. But in fact, Machina takes the ambience of Adore further into a larger sonic territory thereby creating, quite possibly, their most powerful work yet.

It may be hard to believe, but standard album tracks such as Raindrops & Sunshowers, Try Try Try, I of the Mourning, and This Time completely crush the Smashing Pumpkins' past singles in terms of emotional content and sound. Production is Machina's wildcard, and it uses it to its full extent.

But that's not to say that the album's aggressions let up in any way. The Everlasting Gaze is like a big bang, opening the CD with a fuzzy crunch thereby paving the way for the fast paced yet deeply moving opener. And Stand Inside Your Love, one of the Smashing Pumpkins best singles, builds like Bullet with the Butterfly Wings but swallows you with an anthemic chorus making you forget Mellon Collie entirely.

But not all of Machina fits neatly into Corgan and Flood's vision of a perfect sounding album. Heavy Metal Machine almost sounds like a joke as it trudges through bottom-heavy guitar chords and a rediculous chorus. If there were ever a song that overstays its welcome, this would be it. Blue Skies Bring Tears grates on the ears with its slow-burn approach that only brings you to a very peculiar and confusing ending. And the first time I heard The Crying Tree of Mercury, I almost laughed out loud at the sound of the keyboards in the beginning.

Fortunately, Machina ends on a strong note (as most good albums do) with The Age of Innocence. The lyrical content does not suggest it, but the melody and music are the perfect epilogue to a band's career.

With Machina, the good far outweighs the bad any day. Sure it has its shortcomings (so did Mellon Collie), but the strong points on the album should be considered to be on par with the strong points of the Smashing Pumpkins career. Maybe some day is will be realized as such.