Static-X's sophomore effort, "Machine" is an intense call to arms that cranks out the voltage well beyond the tolerable levels of most of today's electronic devices. Where most bands tend to venture into experimental territory or try to reinvent themselves on their second album, this L.A. based quartet have instead scaled down their sound and programmed it to be as brutally efficient and unforgiving as possible. With a blend of pulsing industrial programming, modern metal sensibility and a touch of death metal riffs, the group have stayed true to their successful formula and it seems the fact that this album was recorded as a three piece (due to the departure of guitarist Koichi) has only made them that much more hungry.

Vocalist Wayne Static is once again up at the front leading the charge, barking out his throaty vocals with a sharp staccato style full of charring screams and interesting timing structures. Staying firmly on track on this time around, there seems to be less attempt at trying any melodic singing for the most part, though he does manage to let out a few roomy choruses through a handful of the tracks included. Guitar work sounds gritty and almost mechanical to a certain extent, using piercing distorted riffs to punch their points through and grind out jarring yet precise sonic jabs that compliment the well regimented verbal blasts. Bass playing serves its purposes well, bridging the guitars and percussion together with aggressively hit notes that stick to fairly moderated chord progressions that keep the songs tightly stitched together. Percussion is riotous as always making use of crisp high-hat work and heavy kick drum and snare variation that is complimented with the occasional double kick styled flourish. Sounding like a drum machine possessed by an evil demon, drummer Ken Jay's parts help establish the groups electro atmosphere more so than any of the other organic instruments with their defined, rigid chops. The final circuit in the motherboard of this machine however is the constantly evolving wall of searing noise that ranges from tweaked distorted feedback and looping blips and beeps to samples and cleverly programmed bass drops, which in the end do the bulk of work of crafting an at times overwhelming wall of alien, yet digestible sonic dissonance.

Though this album may lack the experimentation that their past efforts hinted at, the loss has been justifiably compensated as the energy level and straight up heaviness here has been increased tenfold. The song transitions are quite immersive and set the listener up nicely, such as the 23 second intro "Bien Venidos", which brings some odd style of what could be Mexican circus music that literally leads the listener unsuspectingly into a head on collision of decapitating riffs and mortar blast like screams found on its successor, "Get To The Gone". But though the songs start off hard and heavy, it seems that the steam begins to falter about half way through as little dynamic change is thrown in to let the listener explore different avenues of the bands sound. It is perhaps some of the most stripped down and focused music they've ever created and its balls out heaviness is enough to leave a bruise on a brick, but with the same formula being followed quite closely for the bulk of songs, the momentum eventually starts to screech to a halt. There are a few showcases of fresh ideas here though, especially on tracks like "Permanence" and the detached yet catchy "Cold", but for the most part there's not a lot of frills up for grabs here. No doubt a raw and furious performance is captured here and the groups recording as a trio has indeed kept things quite compact, but with some more unexpected ideas here and there, this CD could touch upon so much more. Still, if its a quick cathartic release you're looking for, then this machine can more than handle the job, but if you're looking for something that will wow you with depth and introspection, then perhaps you should wait for the next upgrade.