Ape Machine, Mangled by the Machine: Ruling with Intent
Posted in Reviews on August 5th, 2013 by JJ KoczanWith their third album and Ripple Music debut, Portland, Oregon, four-piece Ape Machine take something of a turn toward the straightforward within heavy rock. The semi-retro vibes they presented on their prior outing, 2011’s War to Head (track stream here), still show up on Mangled by the Machine, but tonally the focus seems to have moved somewhat more toward crunch than fuzz, and the songs by and large are crisper, higher tempo and shorter. It all makes for a quick listen throughout the album’s 38 minutes, and where Mangled by the Machine does not at all falter is in the quality of the songwriting, which if anything is all the more highlighted by this somewhat stripped down approach. Seeming to nod at latter-day Lo-Pan, “Gun You Down” opens the record with a fervent groove and soulful vocals from Caleb Heinze, the band’s stated affinity for recording analog showing itself through a natural feel and warmth in the guitars of Ian Watts, the bass of Brian True and Damon de la Paz‘s drums. Songs move quickly and smoothly one into the next, the strong hook of “Everybody Bleeds” taking hold quickly before it seems like the introductory rush of “Gun You Down” has had time to develop. That ethic plays out over the course of the vinyl-ready offering — the tracks don’t sound hastily composed, but the album has a rush to it all the same — and the material is further tied together by Heinze‘s consistent vocal approach, which keeps largely to a higher register and adds to the energy of the instruments behind (and sometimes in front of) him.
There’s an angularity underlying some of Watts‘ riffing that seems to be filtering classic prog through the Melvins, and it can be heard on “Everybody Bleeds” as well as several of the other cuts’ chugging progressions, but it’s not jagged enough to make the several guest organ spots from Ikey Owens seem out of place, the first of them arriving on “Everybody Bleeds” with others showing up on the title-track and side B cuts “Ruling with Intent,” “Grind of Defeat,” the ultra-catchy “Strange are the People” and closer “Pay Attention.” If that seems like a lot, it is, but Ape Machine put the organ to good use within the tracks, bolstering the classic rock atmosphere and adding to the melodies in what’s still definitively a modern sound — that is, not given to the same kind of retro audio manifestation as any number of European acts working with similar influences. And still, the riffs lead the way, which makes me think the songs were composed before the organ was brought into the process, and as “Tyrant’s Arm” gives way as the third in a raging opening trio to the more landmark riffing of “Angry Man,” there isn’t so much a change in tempo as one in energy that suits the band well, True‘s bass stepping in to fill out the guitar work with some of the album’s best fills, which of course also lets de la Paz deliver choice freakout fills. The whole album is impeccably constructed, but the most satisfying change of all might be “Angry Man” running headfirst into “Mangled by the Machine” to close out side A.