Posted in Whathaveyou on December 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
It’s easy to appreciate how sans-drama the relatively few lineup changes in The Machine have been over the band’s time. 2018’s Faceshift (review here) marked the final appearance of bassist Hans van Heemst, and their already-recorded, title-not-yet-revealed next full-length will be the last showing for drummer Davy Boogaard as well — hey, you get older, priorities change, I get it; everybody put in their time — which leaves guitarist/vocalist David Eering as the last founder, but at least publicly, nobody’s ever told anyone to screw off. Boogaard played his last show with the band this Fall, and the vibe I got was that it was bittersweet and just a case of it being time to move on. These things happen.
In the New Year, the Rotterdam trio will press forward with Klaas Dijkstra, Eering, and bassist Chris Both, legitimately marking the beginning of a new era for the group. I don’t know that our paths will cross and I’ll get to see them on stage (not impossible, not overly likely), but I know that Eering bleeds for this band and they wouldn’t still be going if he didn’t have a project he believed in. To the future, then.
Onward:
ANNOUNCEMENT – THE MACHINE 2023
Please meet The Machine’s new drummer, Klaas Dijkstra (BUG, Sunday Kids, Night Of The Lotuseater).
Klaas will take on his duties effective immediately which introduces The Machine Mark IV. We are currently rehearsing for 2023 live shows and are looking forward to present you this lineup on stage next year. Klaas’ approach to playing drums provides some fresh impulses to the band, which is being put to use while getting both familiar with our back catalog as well as jamming on new material. After 15 years, it is the start of a new and exciting chapter of this band.
2023 will also mark the release of our already recorded and finished 7th full length album. We are in full preparation of its release together with our new record label, more details to follow around February. Onwards and upwards!
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Kind of a surprise here. Davy Boogaard‘s departure from Dutch heavy trio The Machine — who’ve done the jam thing, done the noise thing, and are soon enough to unveil their next album, which puts a neat bow on all of it while still kicking ass — leaves David Eering (guitar/vocals) as the lone remaining original member. Former bassist Hans van Heemst departed following 2018’s Faceshift (review here), and has since been replaced by Chris Both (also Sepiroth) after a stint with Sander Haagmans (ex-Sungrazer) filling in. Somehow, for a band who had so much chemistry between them for so long, losing another original third feels big, even as Eering and Both are committed to keeping it going.
Boogaard will play one more show with The Machine on Nov. 16 and will appear on the aforementioned next album as his final act with the band. Eering and Both are accepting submissions for drummers now — you can see their email below if you want to reach out — and at least from where I’m sitting that seems like a really good gig to drum your way into. The stream of Faceshift is at the bottom of this post if you doubt me, and there’s the rest of their Bandcamp linked, though if you need more convincing you might not want to apply anyway.
And in case it needs to be said, best wishes to Boogaard, who seems to be leaving on good terms. All the best to him in future endeavors and thanks for the rock and roll these last 15 years.
From social media:
Hear here, a message from David & Chris.
Davy will be leaving the band. He managed to ride it out for 15 years, but at one point you’ve just got to go with the flow. Thanks for all the good times brother! Davy’s personal statement about his departure is in the comments.
Just to be clear: The Machine will continue. 100%. Our upcoming show at @effenaar Club Void @intothevoidfestival (Nov 16) with @samavayo will be Davy’s farewell show. There’s an already finished new album waiting for its turn to be released. That will be Davy’s final output with the band. We will be able to share details on the album’s release during the months to come. It’s our best one by the way and there’s a new record label for this one.
We are now obviously challenged with a vacancy. If you are or know a hard hitting and super tight drummer with the right amount of feel and experimental tendencies, take a chance and get in touch directly. Drop us a DM or use david@themachineweb.com. We have our rehearsal room in Sliedrecht, 25 mins drive south of Rotterdam.
This puts us at the dawn of a new era of the band. The only way is forward!
Dear all,
With a heavy heart I regret to tell you that I will quit being the drummer of The Machine. After having played with great pleasure for over 15 years, I call it quits. I’d like to spend more time on other important aspects of my life, especially my kids and family.
I enjoyed all the years spent with this band. I went to countries & cities I otherwise would have never seen, played fantastic stages and met a lot of wonderful people. I should thank a lot of people but I’d honestly don’t know where to begin. Thanks to all of you! Thank you to everyone that has supported the band, friends, family… it all meant and means a lot to me.
Special thanks to Matte, Lara and Kat (Sound of Liberation), a lot of gratitude for the energy you put in and the wonderful times we had together! Sander Haagmans, thanks for stepping in after Hans’ departure. You really helped David and me out on a moment where we were uncertain about the continuation of the band. You’re a fantastic musician and above all an amazing dude.
My biggest thanks go out to David, Chris and Hans. It was a pleasure to be able to play with you guys, thanks for the insane amounts of fun that we had on the road. It is impossible to write down in such a small piece how important you were to me (and still are). Love you guys. I wish David and Chris all the best in the future. This band will also carve its path without me, no doubt about it.
On the 16th of November at Effenaar (Club Void), I will play my final show with The Machine. I dread going and look forward to playing this show at the same time, but I’d like to share the stage with my brothers once more. Maybe I see you then, maybe I see you around another time.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 15th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Just this past weekend, Rotterdam, the Netherlands-based trio The Machine headlined the Esbjerg Fuzztival in Denmark. The three-piece are out supporting their self-released 2018 album, Faceshift (review here), which brought their blend of jam-based heavy and noise rock influences to its to-date peak of execution. They are by now veterans of the European heavy underground, and seem to be moving more and more toward a headliner position as a result of that. Previously announced for Keep it Low 2019 in Munich and Up in Smoke 2019 in Pratteln, Switzerland, they’ll also play the Setalight Festival in Berlin on Oct. 12 as the final date of an efficient 10-day run with Samavayo, who were also recently on the road with Stoned Jesus.
The two bands are a good fit. Both have a harder edge beneath their tonally weighted exterior, and whether it’s Samavayo‘s turn toward progressive metal or The Machine‘s periodic coffee-fueled binge on noise tendencies, I’d imagine their sets will offer something complementary to those in attendance starting Oct. 3 at the 013 in Tilburg. If nothing else, with three out of the 10 shows being festivals, it should make for a good time for the bands. The Fall season is increasingly busy and as those fest lineups continue to take shape, I wouldn’t be surprised to find more tours like this happening. I’ll keep an eye out.
As presented by Sound of Liberation:
The legendary The Machine are going to hit the European roads in October together with the fabulous Samavayo, who just returned from their one-week tour with Stoned Jesus! Just one word: U.L.T.R.A.H.I.G.H.E.N.E.R.G.Y.
Posted in Reviews on August 10th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Six full-lengths in, Rotterdam’s The Machine are not only veterans with more than a decade of work behind their 2007 debut, Shadow of the Machine, but participating in an ongoing sonic development that seems to be playing out in real-time on each of their records. Their earliest work — the just-mentioned debut, as well as 2009’s Solar Corona, 2011’s way-jammed-out Drie (review here) — was square in the vein of heavy psychedelic rock, rife with longform jams led by the warm fuzz tone of guitarist/vocalist David Eering and backed by the rhythmic fluidity of bassist Hans van Heemst and drummer Davy Boogaard. With 2012’s Calmer than You Are (review here) and their 2013 split with Sungrazer (review here), The Machine began a process of solidifying their songwriting, condensing ideas into tighter structures. They still had a propensity to jam out, and that continued onto their fifth LP, Offblast! (review here), which tipped the balance even further, showing a budding affinity for noise rock.
To listen to Shadow of the Machine and the band’s latest work, Faceshift, one would hardly recognize it’s the same outfit. At 40 minutes, the eight-track collection is a full 10 shorter than its predecessor, and it’s the tightest collection of songs the band has yet produced. Eering‘s vocals still have a watery effect on them, and he still breaks out a longer solo on the 11-minute title-track, but that’s the only song not in the three-to-five-minute range, and from the 5:50 opener “Crack You” onward, there’s a predilection toward noise rock that makes its way in amid the heavy and desert influences that comes even more forward on songs like the subsequent “Agitate” and the later “The Norm,” “Kick It” and the closing duo of “Zeroten” and “Kamikaze.” Faceshift still has its foundation in heavy rock, but it’s clear the band has grown into something else and are still growing into something else in these tracks. Something all the more their own.
If one were to think of it as a new era for The Machine, I don’t think that would be wrong. And it goes further than just their sound. Faceshift is their first record since Solar Corona not to be released by Elektrohasch Schallplatten, and instead it finds them self-releasing through their own newly-started imprint, Awe Records. Not only that, but it marks van Heemst‘s last performance with the band, and he’s been replaced for live shows, maybe more, by Sander Haagmans (The Whims of the Great Magnet, ex-Sungrazer). That’s The Machine‘s first lineup change in memory, and to listen to anything the band has done is to realize it’s not a minor one; even on Faceshift, the bass makes significant contributions to the overall effectiveness of the tracks. It’s still something of a mystery as to what the future holds, whether Haagmans will join full-time (one hopes), but the point is that the sonic turns made throughout are only part of the story.
They’re a crucial part, of course, with “Crack You” giving way to the punkish “Agitate,” with Boogaard‘s raw snare cutting through Eering‘s solo en route to a cold finish and a bass-led intro to “Heads Up.” Not necessarily as sharp edged as some of what surrounds, “Heads Up” still offers plenty of bite as it works what turns out to be a linear building path of dynamic ebbs and flows headed to a brash final payoff. Their turns are deceptively smooth as they make their way through verses and choruses with guitar at the top of the mix riding the groove of the bass and drums. They finish with a solo that cuts back to the central riff at the end, almost making the listener wish for one more run through the hook, but there’s no time, especially with the 2:41 crasher “The Norm” immediately following. It’s arguably the most singularly intense moment on Faceshift, with a searing lead of wah capping after an assault of drums and sheer rhythmic thrust buries the vocals beneath such that they seem to simply disappear as the song plays out.
Stop for a beat and “Kick It” begins the presumed end of side A, with a chunkier riff at its core and Eering‘s vocals tapping grunge melodies at around the first-minute mark. Boogaard‘s drums bring a steady bombast to the recording, but he’s never actually out of control; just insanely talented. “Kick It” also has a payoff at the end, but it’s longer after the solo than that of “Heads Up” and it leads to the smoother-edged, fuzzy start of the title-track, which one half expects to be a jam given its extended length and The Machine‘s past patterning, and it is one after a fashion, but here too the “face” of the band’s approach has shifted. They bounce easily through the first four minutes of the song, adding a bit of lumber to the final hook, then crash out on a wash of cymbals and bring the song down to nothing but residual amp hum and dead space only to have the guitar return alone with a line at 4:32. It’s the beginning point for an instrumental freakout that consumes the rest of “Face Shift,” building over the few minutes that follow not to a psychedelic spaciousness, but to an absolute cacophony of guitar, bass and drums all working together in power trio fashion.
The touchstone comparison for it would be Earthless, but really what’s happening is The Machine are building a bridge between their former style and their new one. They push it until shortly before 10 minutes in and then crash out once more, and Eering holds out a guitar line on a long fade that brings it to a close. A stretch of actual silence follows before “Zeroten” bursts in with its own noisy starts and stops, Helmet-style, some highlight basswork from van Heemst and drawling vocals for an extra ’90s-style touch. Using feedback as a weapon, it pulls and careens through a solo in its second half before dipping back to the central riff for a last verse and then caps with harsh noise en route to the finale of “Kamikaze,” which holds a similar riff structure but more of a nodding groove and an open chorus that’s among the most satisfyingly Alice in Chains-y throughout. “Face Shift” was a pretty grand finale in itself, but neither “Zeroten” nor “Kamikaze” feels tacked on, and the latter has a raucous ending of its own to cap the record, returning at the last minute to underscore just how skilled songwriters The Machine have become.
It’s important to highlight the creative growth The Machine have undertaken on Faceshift, but it’s not as if it’s come out of nowhere and all of a sudden they decided to be different-sounding band. They’ve never put out the same record twice, and Faceshift is a step forward from Offblast! much as that record was a step forward from Calmer than You Are and so on through their back catalog. And in much the same way one expects their next one will progress from where they are now. Nonetheless, it’s striking how they bring the diversity of their influences together in an aesthetic they’ve so much made their own, and how they seem to set up yet another avenue of pursuit for their ongoing sonic progression.
Based on what I read in the band’s announcement for their new video and first public audio from their sixth full-length, I’m going to guess that ‘Crack You’ doesn’t necessarily speak for the entirety of The Machine‘s Faceshift from whence it comes. Because they say it doesn’t, and six records in, one can generally trust a band to know the difference. The Netherlands-based three-piece are set to release Faceshift next month through new imprint Awe Records — they were formerly on Elektrohasch — and though “Crack You” features a warm, heavy/desert rock tonality, The Machine over the years have moved beyond their initial post-Colour Haze jammy beginnings and, while still retaining some of that in their sound, have pushed into a more noise-rocking direction. Certainly that was the case on their fifth LP, 2015’s Offblast! (review here), and 2012’s Calmer than You Are (review here) might be the root of that change, coming as it did just a year after 2011’s Drie (review here). Each of their records, from 2007’s debut Shadow of the Machine and 2009’s Solar Corona onward, has been a clear step in their growth. No doubt the same holds true of Faceshift as well.
And though one would hardly listen to Shadow of the Machine and guess where the band would wind up 11 years later, The Machine have yet to release an outing that doesn’t make sense to their progressive arc. That is, especially with songs like “Crack You” at their disposal, the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist/engineer David Eering, bassist Hans van Heemst — since out of the band and replaced for shows by Sander Haagmans, formerly of Sungrazer, who out out a split with The Machine in 2013 (review here) — and drummer Davy Boogaard are able to tie their noisier proclivities to the naturalist psychedelia of their earlier days. Offblast! did so with tracks like “Coda Sun” and “Dry End” and the stretched-out “Chrysalis (J.A.M.).” And while in their album announcement they said it would be their noisiest and harshest offering yet, “Crack You” features an accessible groove and little of the punk-derived duderism that one might expect. Presumably, they get there later on.
Preorders for Faceshift are up now — right now — via Awe Records ahead of the July 13 release date. CD and limited vinyl. The video for “Crack You” features footage in the studio and out, some of it new, with Haagmans on bass, some of it older, with van Heemst, who appears on the record. I’ll hope to have more to come ahead of the release, but you can check out the “Crack You” clip below, followed by the band’s announcement of it and the preorder link courtesy of the social medias.
Dig it:
The Machine, “Crack You” official video
We present you Crack You, the first track of our sixth album Faceshift. The album will be released on July 13 on CD and LP (180gr black and limited transparent magenta). To warm you up we’re starting out with the most easy listening and catchy track on the album.
Pre sale just started, the store is open. Go towww.awe-records.comand visit the shop to make a reservation.
Faceshift will be available on CD and 180gr vinyl (black/transparent magenta).
Orders will be shipped out starting from Monday July 16.
First gigs will be at ‘t Keldertje (event The Machine & Walden & Junkfood Lunchbox) on July 13 (release day) and Stoned From The Underground 2018 on July 14.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 8th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Rotterdam-based psych-jammers-turned-noise-rockers-and-sometimes-still-psych-jammers The Machine have a new album, a new bassist, and a new label. The record, which has been dubbed Faceshift, speaks to the ongoing change in the veteran three-piece’s sound even unto its artwork, and as they passed the decade mark late last year, early in 2018 guitarist/vocalist David Eering and drummer Davy Boogaard bid farewell to bassist Hans van Heemst. I’m not sure if van Heemst plays on the album — given the timing, I think so, but I’m not 100 percent — but with his maybe-temporary-maybe-permanent replacement being none other than Sander Haagmans, formerly of The Machine‘s tour, split and once-labelmates Sungrazer and currently also making music under the guise of The Whims of the Great Magnet, one could hardly argue for a more fitting replacement. That is, it’s not the original lineup of the band anymore, but it’s about as close as they were going to get.
The Machine feature in the lineup for this year’s Stoned from the Underground in Germany. Actually, it was seeing them listed as a part of that bill that made me hit up their Thee Facebooks to find out what they were up to. And if you’re curious, yeah, I’m a little bummed that’s how I’m finding out about their new record nearly a month after it was first announced, but hey, it’s still one to look forward to, as these guys always deliver.
The following is culled together from their social medias and that of Awe Records, their aforementioned new label:
Friday the 13th, July. Save the date.
We have a new album coming up! Our new one, “Faceshift” will be released at Awe Records, worldwide distribution by Cargo Records. Click and follow the Awe page to be kept updated about this and potential other future releases.
Tracklist: 01 – Crack You 02 – Agitate 03 – Heads Up 04 – The Norm 05 – Kick It 06 – Face Shift 07 – Zeroten 08 – Kamikaze
Other info will follow soon. There will be a pre-sale and some other funky stuff. The record will be available on CD/LP/Digital. As a limited edition, we’ll have transparent magenta for all the vinyl collectors out there. We will also put some new music online any time soon.
Anyway, we think Faceshift kicks ass and we will play some new tunes at the handful of shows we’ll do during the summer to support this release. We’ll have the very first copies with us on the road by then, some new design t-shirts as well to top if off. A couple of additional summer dates to follow asap. Since Hans left, we’ll have Sander with us to do these gigs.
From Awe Records:
The Machine is back! Heavier than ever before, their sixth full length album Faceshift sees them further carving out their own sonic identity. The successor to 2015’s Offblast! is the band’s most noisy and melodic effort to date. After an existence of over a decade, The Machine digs more into their grunge and noise rock side, without sacrificing any trademarks.
Faceshift was recorded live at Studio De Zolder (as always), with The Machine’s own David Eering at the helm. The outcome is a more focused and punchy album, straying further and further from the stoner and psych jams of the early years. A maturation of the trio’s song writing results in memorable hooks, more room to breathe for the rhythm section and punishing riffs smashing you in the face with a hammer. Album highlight and title track “Face Shift” offers all of these ingredients, while the long instrumental section is a reminder that The Machine is not completely ignoring their heritage. Clocking in at 11:11, it is by far the longest track on the record.
