Album Review: Reflex Machine – Interzone (Over the Counter/Culture Records)

How many bands do you know that can take the blueprint for heavy music and rip it to shreds? Well, get ready to add Reflex Machine to that list. Locking themselves in a house in Columbus, Ohio, the duo beat the proverbial crap out of drums and bass to concoct their debut full-length Interzone. What emerges puts a prism to ‘post-metal’; this is quite unlike the garden variety, going out-of-bounds to circle back around with several other variants of metal in tow.

A concept album, the horrifying realities of a disavowed cop named Jones facing himself and his sordid past through the absurdly demented A.I. of a futuristic force of unfathomable cruelty – a sentient building known as Interzone.

Just bass, drums and vocals…a fascinating combination that could fall flat on its face if it wasn’t for an exceptionally interesting concept. As well as a duo more then capable of producing uniquely interesting sounds.

When trying to sell a concept, it’s important for the listener to be able to visualise just what the concept is trying to suggest. Here, the imagery of futuristic horrors and darkly compelling fights for survival is laid bare across 9 tracks. Some like the title track has violent shifts that jerk the listener out of any malaise they might be feeling. Others like Machina and Burn it Down create a compelling level of worry and barely concealed anger.

The album shares plenty in common with modern noise rock while also having the darker tones of post metal too. A combination that takes a little time to sink in but when it does, you might find yourself entranced by it.

Reflex Machine – Interzone Full Track Listing:

1. Interzone
2. The Descent I. Enter Jones
3. The Descent II. L_Appel Du Vide
4. The Descent III. Lust for Loss
5. Machina
6. Framed
7. Faulty Apparatus
8. Burn It Down
9. Mugwump

Links

Bandcamp | Website | Facebook | Instagram