On paper, Greymachine should be great. Justin Broadrick and Aaron Turner are two of the most influential rock musicians today. The former masterminded industrial metal behemoth Godflesh; now he helms shoegazer rock band Jesu. The latter fronts atmospheric metal outfit Isis, perhaps the most imitated metal band today. Greymachine also includes Broadrick collaborators Dave Cochrane (Head of David, Ice) and Diarmuid Dalton (Jesu). Broadrick has said that Greymachine taps into his aggressive side-- welcome news for long-suffering Godflesh fans. Combined with people from Broadrick's musical present and past, such intent raises interesting possibilities.
Unfortunately, Greymachine does not realize them. Contrary to hype, it is not Jesu + Isis. It has none of the pretty melodies of either. In fact, Broadrick's collaborators might as well have been absent. This sounds like a Broadrick project through and through, just not a fully fleshed out one. Songs often start with hoover bass lines-- a throwback to Broadrick's days producing drum 'n' bass 12"s in the 1990s under pseudonyms-- then wander through hazes of slow beats and guitars with loads of effects. The bass lines are bracing enough, but their power dissipates as songs go nowhere. Broadrick's production skills are peerless, and cool noises wind throughout the album. But cool noises do not make for songs. These tracks exhaust their ideas long before their running times, often eight minutes or more. The album feels like a collection of demos-- for a Godflesh remix EP, perhaps, or for Broadrick's earlier beat-oriented projects like Techno Animal or Ice. It was assembled via email, and sounds like it. The title is apt.
Greymachine wastes the talents of Broadrick and Turner. Perhaps it could have been more focused had they sat in the same room and hashed out songs the old-fashioned way. Maybe Turner's melodic sense would have come through. Maybe Broadrick would have worked up actual riffs. The lack of riffing has been his greatest weakness since ending Godflesh. His Jesu and Final projects revolve around chords and melodies and textures. Sometimes these work, but often others do them better. Riffs are distillations of purpose. They occupy the midrange and can almost act like voices. Since Broadrick left riffing behind, his work has felt scattered. It often has mammoth low end, clouds of high end, and emptiness in between.
