:: Machiavellian - The Impossibility Of Death In The Minds Of The Living

Machiavellian

Although originally released in 2008 (through Canadian label Year Of The Sun Records), it’s only now that UK act Machiavellian have finally managed to secure a domestic release for their debut EP ‘The Impossibility Of Death In The Minds Of The Living’, with Glasstone Records providing the opportunity for the fans to get their hands on Machiavellian’s music without the exorbitant import price tag. In the two years since the release of ‘The Impossibility Of Death In The Minds Of The Living’, Machiavellian have certainly earned some considerable praise for their EP, with notable publications such as Terrorizer, Rocksound, Powerplay and Zero Tolerance all proclaiming the band as the next big thing to emerge out of the U.K. And it’s with those words in mind that I greeted this EP with anticipation, with the expectation that Machiavellian was at best going to totally amaze, and at worst at least entertain and keep me thoroughly interested throughout its four song duration. Unfortunately, Machiavellian fails to generate anything of real interest, with ‘The Impossibility Of Death In The Minds Of The Living’ sounding both disappointing and aimless.

The first problem is the band’s eclectic sound. Although proclaiming to fuse together elements of death metal, thrash metal, doom and stoner rock, most of what genuinely emerges from Machiavellian in the sound sense is predominately metalcore based, with the other mentioned genres only emerging out of the band’s generic sound from time to time. Production-wise, it’s clear that the band have had to work within a tight budget. Sure, producer/engineer Chris Fielding and Russ Russell have done a solid job here, but listening to this is hardly what you would call a truly dynamic sounding experience. But the biggest problem here is the songs. There’s no denying that every one of the four tracks have some interesting moments, but not a single one seems to flow in a natural manner, nor impress in the song writing sense. The guitarists churn out some great riffs, and the drums are pummelling throughout, and Smith’s vocals boast enough growl to keep the aggression flowing. But inevitably it all amounts to nothing when nothing within the songs stands out as memorable in any shape or form. ‘The Impossibility Of Death In The Minds Of The Living’ is a real letdown, and a classic case of hype far outweighing the expectations. I can only hope that Machiavellian’s sound has moved on in the two years since, because if they’re still peddling this particular brand of generic metalcore, the band’s future is sure to hasten itself towards the past.