System Machine
It can, and has been, said that heavy metal is a genre that refuses to die, and when listening to the industrious sounds of the new single “In Dust We Trust” from System Machine, one is inclined to agree with the statement. Although far from the puritan sounds of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, the rough edged melodicism of “In Dust We Trust” feels like a modern extension of the heavy metal aesthetics that once gave birth to the likes of Fear Factory and Marilyn Manson, and nowadays, that isn’t the kind of sound you find in the mainstream very often.
Although the video for this single is admittedly more progressive-minded than the actual compositional substance is, nothing is overdone, campy or conceptual to the extent of feeling like it’s missing something in this instance. I think it’s obvious that System Machine could create something a little more full-bodied and ambitious than they already have on a poetic front and still maintain their heavy-rocking finish, but it’s interesting that they’re still keeping their stylization a little conservative in the grander scheme of things.
They’re careful in their output, but this is more telling of a desire to be known for a very specific - and very streamlined - approach to the darkest strain of rock music out there.
Sporting a compelling narrative and the right sonic chops to satisfy both metal and rock fans in the international underground this autumn, System Machine’s “In Dust We Trust” might not be the first single to channel atonal white noise into something palatably melodic and accessible to anyone who digs a sweet groove, but it’s one of the best to debut in 2020 for sure.
System Machine have been deep underground for at least three years now, but here, they’re finally sounding amped up enough to break the barrier between their work and the mainstream success they seek.
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Trace Whittaker
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
10/2020
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