Having been preoccupied with his Celldweller project in recent years, this fifth album is the first one-man band Klayton has put the Circle Of Dust name to since 1995, and those who still revel in that era’s industrial dancefloor fillers will find plenty to admire.
The mechanical stomp of Embracing Entropy and _Outside In’_s chorus have an inrresistable groove while alt Human’s Reznor-style jolts and Rammstein pomp is refreshingly old school and futuristic in the same breath. With all its cold electronic refrain there’s a weighty metallic crunch, thrown into some truly scintillating riffs. The title track’s melodeath leads elevate the laser blast effects that transport you to some far-off mechanised dystopian wasteland, Contagion’s synthetic beats and piercing keys are spearheaded by a simplistic but effective thrash motif, while Humanarchy’s harsh vocals and brutal syncopation are straight out of the Fear Factory manual. Machines Of Our Disgrace is based more on adrenaline than invention but it’s an enjoyable romp nonetheless.
