{"id":44419,"date":"2014-08-28T20:40:03","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T01:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=44419"},"modified":"2014-08-28T20:40:03","modified_gmt":"2014-08-29T01:40:03","slug":"machinae-supremacy-phantom-shadow-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/machinae-supremacy-phantom-shadow-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Machinae Supremacy | Phantom Shadow<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jenn Carbaugh<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"MachinaeFifteen years and six albums later, Machinae Supremacy is back with their combination of power metal and pop, which results in odd but catchy grooves and sounds. This Swedish five-some formed at the turn of the century and became a well known online act. They did so much advertising by word-of-mouth, and here they are. After lineup changes and sound tweaking, they have cultivated a signature sound coupled with good songwriting. <\/p>\n

Interesting is the first word that comes to mind with their sound. There metal riffs with pop beats. There is also game music that makes childhood seem like yesterday. Machinae Supremacy seems to have a lot of anthem type songs that initiate a fighting attitude. This album tends to have some actual variety though. There are somber songs like \u201cEuropa\u201d as well as tracks that are just a haunting voice or tune like \u201cMeanwhile in the Hall of Shadows.\u201d \t<\/p>\n

What this band does well, which is showcased in Phantom Shadow<\/em>, is have serious lyrics united with a light-hearted melody. It\u2019s eerie, but the nature of the songs that rally internal conflict stick with you. This album is anything but forgetful. It is quite strange and certainly unique. The guitar playing has a bright sound to it, and the drums create an odd but steady atmosphere. \u201cRenegades\u201d is a track that is a great example of what the band does well. There is a story within the lyrics, and the band may be playing the protagonist. The storytelling devices that Machinae Supremacy uses definitely help to convey their messages. <\/p>\n

This album is one that needs to be heard. It is so bizarre that it works. Video games from the eighties and nineties help to inspire these creative 16 tracks. If you are just listening to this band for the first time, this is a good album to start being a fan. <\/p>\n

Genre: Alternative Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nRobert Stj\u00e4rnstr\u00f6m – vocals
\nJonas R\u00f6rling \u2013 lead guitar, vocals
\nAndreas Gerdin \u2013 bass
\nNiklas Karvonen \u2013 drums
\nTomi Luoma \u2013 rhythm guitar<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n01.\tI Wasn\u2019t Made for the World I left Behind
\n02.\tThe Villain of this Story
\n03.\tPerfect Dark
\n04.\tEuropa
\n05.\tThrone of Games
\n06.\tMeanwhile in the Hall of Shadows
\n07.\tPhantom Battle
\n08.\tCaptured (Sara\u2019s Theme)
\n09.\tRenegades
\n10.\tBeyond Good and Evil
\n11.\tThe Second One
\n12.\tRedemption Was Never Really My Thing
\n13.\tThe Bigger They Are the Harder They Fall
\n14.\tVersus
\n15.\tMortal Wound (Skye\u2019s Requlem)
\n16.\tHubnester Rising<\/p>\n

Label: Spinefarm Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.machinaesupremacy.com<\/a> <\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jenn Carbaugh – Columnist — Fifteen years and six albums later, Machinae Supremacy is back with their combination of power metal and pop, which results in odd but catchy grooves and sounds. This Swedish […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":44435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[8600,2317,9906,9907,3875],"class_list":{"0":"post-44419","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-alternative-metal","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-machinae-supremacy","11":"tag-phantom-shadow","12":"tag-spinefarm-records"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}