Diesel Machine
““Torture Test””
(Steamhammer / SPV)
Opening with the sounds of large machinery being turned on and warmed up, the harsh warning buzzers signal something mechanically dangerous is operating here. Diesel Machine. Even the name implies the dry, industrial crunch the band capably delivers. Riff mongers. Big and thick. Simple and crushing. Scratching against the single note ride for the general attack. The kind of guitar lines that pretty much make it obvious who is controlling the direction here. Noticeable doses of the Dimebag Darrel (Pantera) school of guitar thrash permeate Pat Lachman’s contributions to Diesel Machine. The ‘chugga chugga’ guitar mentality runs deep here. Meshuggah comparisons seem unavoidable at times (coming close to their surgical precision), but with only one guitarist in Diesel Machine, its rhythm heavy. “State Of Panic” impressively opens with an avalanche of drums which sets the collapsing pace for the song to roll along. The vocals are gruff and lacking in much dynamic. Despite this, he holds down a personality through the throaty scrapings. “Driven By Pain” has a nice tribal roll and slap of percussion at the end, an attention grabber for sure and makes you remember the name of drummer Shane Gaalaas. The guitars/drums of this band are outstanding in their limited vision of stutter riffed attacks. The title track has a nice little gun reload ‘cha-chick’ in one of the pauses. Oh yeah, overtones of violence. Always goes good with the metal when served up as chunky as this. A bit formulaic from front to back, but taken as individual songs, any track off “Torture Test” delivers an intense sound surprisingly their own.
