The Machine - "Another Sun"
The Machine is a spacey stoner rock trio from The Netherlands. Making music for nearly two decades, the band is known for being a genre-defying act in the European heavy underground, blending the heft of stoner/doom with the infectious hooks of 90s-era alternative rock, the hypnotic qualities of heavy psych, and the often-delicate intricacies of space and progressive rock.
The Machine released their eighth studio album Another Sun on October 2, 2026, an effort that, while more than open to embracing newness and change, never intended to reinvent the wheel for the band. Says frontman David Eering: "Another Sun is an important milestone to me personally, after a couple of years with (apparent) reduced activity of the band - it's the first record with this great lineup and the first one that I recorded at my own place Evolver Studio. Without the intention to do so, I think we managed to honor a more old school The Machine vibe while also stepping into the future."
In spite of almost twenty years and eight albums, the release of Another Sun marks my first time hearing The Machine, and to say that I was blown away would be the understatement of the century.
The Machine - Another Sun
Another Sun possesses one of the most dimensional sounds I've ever heard in heavy underground music. The Machine has a knack for hooking their listeners with soaring, memorable alternative rock phrases and mesmerizing them with passages of the trance-inducing repetition of heavy psych before launching them directly into a solid wall of rumbling, spaced-out stoner/doom sound. Not content to stop there, the band also delights in twists and turns, dropping us into more delicate atmospheres that range from eerie and vast to dreamlike and serene. Guitar tones effortlessly move from coarse and gritty to cold and steely to warm and golden, diffusing like sunbeams through glass. The steadfast bass is truly the backbone of the sound, providing a reliable, and often somewhat sinister stoner groove no matter where the mood of Another Sun goes. Adaptable percussion goes with the flow, energetically and organically crashing along in the more jammy excursions but tightening up at the drop of a hat during tense moments. The vocals are melodic and relatively even-keeled, reminiscent of the post grunge era, which underlines the soothing, hypnotic qualities of The Machine's sound. As a matter of fact, vocals often take a back seat on Another Sun as free-flowing instrumental expanses frequently and very naturally emerge, especially in the two longest songs found at the end of the album. While one could easily say that The Machine incorporates a lot of moving parts on Another Sun, the natural, instinctive manner in which it all unfurls is most impressive, indicative of a band whose musical prowess and creative chemistry have zeroed in on the perfect balance.
The official music video for "Drop/See"
Another Sun is out now via Blues Funeral Recordings (USA/UK) and the band's own imprint Awe Records in collaboration with Stickman Records (Europe).
More About The Machine
The Machine Is:
David Eering - Guitars, Vocals, Sitar, Synthesizers, Theremin, Percussion
Chris Both - Bass
Klaas Dijkstra - Drums, Percussion
You can follow The Machine and listen to their music at these links:
A massive thank you Purple Sage PR for the promo!
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