#machine messiah

But even before the vocals came in, the instrumentals made the song sound virtually indistinguishable from the way the band sounded on the previous album. Which makes sense, because duh, three quarters of the instrumentalists that played on the previous two albums are still here. This is still Yes. And while Jon is still my favorite member (although possibly tied with Chris?), he was never what was carrying the band, and Drama makes that crystal clear. And this is just after listening to the first song!

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Darryl Banks - Terry Austin

Green Lantern #89

In the roughly 25 years since Max Cavalera left Sepultura, his former band evolved so far away from what they first became famous for that most fans considered them an unrecognizable shell of what once was.  The reality is that what was lost in terms of hooks and charisma, was replaced over time by something arguably more interesting: Andreas Kisser’s efforts to steer the group in artier directions were not always successful, but there was an ambition and hunger that was almost entirely missing from Cavalera’s increasingly rote Soulfly albums.  Machine Messiah largely continued along this path, though the songs and Jens Bogren’s production were more streamlined and a bit more linear. “Sworn Oath” lurched forward with a mix of progressive and tribal drumming from Eloy Casagrande and Kisser’s serrated riffs. Derrick Green still couldn’t match Max Cavalera’s roar (then again, neither could Cavalera himself by 2017), but he effectively used his vocals as an instrument that floated over the mix and added shading.  This was not Sepultura at their most accessible, but it wasn’t aimless and showed plenty of ideas within the din.

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