‘Modern Man’ is the first track from Dawning Eyes a new double album from Death Machine being released in April, and double Death Machine is a very exciting prospect indeed having loved the band since I first heard them back in 2017. However, the band name does require some clarification. Far from being hardcore metal or doom-laden sludge rock the band are, as I have described before, ‘gentle, cinematic-balladeers who ponder the abyss but look to the stars.’
Their last release was the track ‘Papercuts’ back in early 2021, but I have stayed in touch with singer/guitarist Jesper Mogensen over the years, checking in from time to time on how things were going. On the recent announcement I got in touch to ask Jesper to give Joyzine readers some insight into the band and the forthcoming album,
“Over the past few years, the band “Death Machine” has been working on writing and recording songs for their double album “Dawning Eyes.” From the beginning, they chose not to set a deadline for when the album should be finished, as they wanted to dive deep and thoroughly work through each track. The creative process has also been different from previous albums.
Many of the songs have been assembled from various ideas and fragments, woven together like a mosaic, which has required a lot of consideration and taken time. This has, among other things, resulted in some longer tracks and a more varied sound throughout the album. We’ve really focused on the details and have had to continuously adjust arrangements along the way if we didn’t feel the vibe was quite right.”
Of the single he says, “The lyrics reflect the narrator’s sense of alienation and isolation in relation to modern life. Through fragmented descriptions, you slowly get the impression that the narrator reluctantly, has surrendered to the norms and structures of modern life. There’s a budding acceptance of the necessity of playing “the game.” The overall message can be summed up as a break from previous loneliness and alienation, though the price may be a renunciation of personal values.”
Death Machine are a band that I have kept coming back to over the years and every album is a treat. Of the many bands I might play when friends are round people always stop and ask, ‘who is this?’ when I play them. They have a way of making music that gently percolates like a stove top coffee maker, and ‘Modern Man’ bubbles along reminiscent of Talk Talk at their best, rising and falling on a backbeat of guitar, bass and drums with call and response vocals, lush harmonies and synth sweeps culminating in a sweet, but not saccharine, guitar solo. With the prospect of more music coming from Death Machine suddenly 2025 doesn’t seem as bleak.
Jesper Mogensen – vocal & guitar
Sven Busck Andersen – drums
Morten Vinther Ørberg – bass
Simon Christensen – keys
Death Machine socials: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube
Released through Celebration Records
Review by Paul F Cook
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