There’s a new force to be reckoned with in the world of cutting-edge thrash.
Although no stranger to more melodic territory, ex-Testament, Nevermore and Vicious Rumors guitarist Steve Smyth is all about the aggression with new project, One Machine. After toying with the idea since 2008, One Machine came together properly last year and released their debut, The Distortion Of Lies. Clearly in no mood to waste precious time, One Machine are already unleashing their second, The Final Cull. It’s an intense piece of technical extremity that Steve says is a “reflection on what I am and what I’ve been doing for years”.
Steve’s positivity is in sharp contrast to how he was nine years ago – his kidneys failed, and it almost claimed his life.
“I had to leave the tour I was on,” he explains. “I ended up in hospital and they said, ‘If you leave, you’ll be dead within 12 hours.’ I told them they had to get me well enough to play again! That’s what they did [Steve had a successful kidney transplant in 2006], and I’m eternally grateful.”
One Machine’s debut was produced by Steve’s long-time friend, Rob Halford/Bruce Dickinson collaborator Roy Z, but this time the band chose Danish metal guru Tue Madsen (The Haunted/Suicide Silence): a move that led them to record every song live – a technique Steve feels isn’t used enough in modern metal.
“It takes me back to a lost era,” he says. “Bands have got so far up their own asses, and some stuff sounds too perfect and the drums sound fake. I thought, ‘Screw all that, let’s make it raw!’”
The Final Cull is out now via Scarlet Records
