Revolution Machine

Some time ago when I received a package of CDs to review I had to make a difficult decision as to which of them would go into the player first. Among the beautifully issued albums there was one: the debut album of Infliction. Thin box made of the cheapest Chinese plastic, which does not want to open completely (a piece of the box even fell off when first opened), peeling off the "promo" on the back, insertion on the border of legibility (the amount of information literally overwhelms), and a very simple artwork on the front with a chessboard, which resembles the one that arises when you copy an image in *.gif format to another program (with the ctr+c + ctrl+v method). I was enchanted by this "guerrilla" work and that's why I got down to listening to it as soon as possible, not even knowing what kind of muse I will be dealing with.

The beginning of "The New Beginning", or more precisely the phrase "Will You jump right now? Will You jump right here?" scared me a bit. It had a strong smell of nu-metal like "Supercharger" or "Catharsis" by Machine Head and although, fortunately, after a few seconds a strong, almost thrash riff entered, which made my feet stomp nicely, I would give this number further in the tracklist, throwing in something that would allow you to get to know the style of the guys from Bydgoszcz better. And you don't have to look far: the second track on the album, "Anger Savagement", is powerful, energetic and you can hear right away that it's Pantera that the band is based on. And before anyone says that groove metal is a genre in which it's impossible to invent anything new... I will admit that they are right. At the same time, however, let me reassure you: the musicians of Infliction have enough talent to keep the listener's attention for almost the entire 50 minutes of the album, while sticking to the rigid framework set by the team from Arlington.

It's hard to find a weak track on "Revolution Machine" (well, maybe apart from "Candyman", but I'll talk about it later) - of course, some of them are better (the great "O.D." with its riff and powerful chorus), others a little worse ("Hate Into Hate"?), but each of them maintains a high level. In some places there is a little bit of combining with the tempo (like "Fuck Tha Police" or "Bombs Away!"), but without exaggerating too much - Infliction's music is to hit you between the eyes and make the audience kill themselves at the concerts. And I know that when I hear a teaser of "Raising the Terror", I immediately evacuate to the back of the club... Each of the band members has his five minutes here: Łyskey pounds drums like Vinnie Paul in his best years ("Bombs Away!", "Kingslayer"), guitar solos are cool and melodic ("Anger Savagement", "Fuck Tha Police") and even the bass player does not want to stay behind and jumps out with interesting parts ("No Respect", "Inflict the Masses")...

But a good band is of no use if everything is dragged down by the vocalist. Fortunately, in Infliction Grzegorz Kosowski stands behind the microphone (with a second guitar in his hands) and what a voice he has! Strong, full of aggression - his furious vocals in "O.D.", "No Respect" or "Dawn of the New World" are hair-raising. What is important, the lyrics, dealing with problems connected with politics, society or terrorism, are shouted in perfect English, devoid of that characteristic Slavic accent, so often present in many even more experienced musicians. And that's why I was so surprised in minus by the aforementioned "Candyman": the most heavy metal number from all available on the album. Here on vocals appeared Oskar Grdeń (bass), whose accent is much worse than Kosiarz's. I wouldn't mind if this song would serve as a bonus track (and would be placed at the end) - however, placed between the perfectly delivered "Hate Into Hate" and "Kingslayer" it knocks the listener out of rhythm. In my opinion, there's no point in trying something different when you have such a frontman; and if you want to do it anyway - then only with Polish lyrics.

The debut album of the band from Bydgoszcz is a real treat for every fan of groove metal - you will find here almost 50 minutes of music at a very high level. Entering the studio, despite their young age, the musicians knew what effect they wanted to achieve and they succeeded almost 100%. Apart from a slight vocal slip-up in "Candyman", in principle, there is nothing to complain about: the numbers "crush" nicely, you want to headbang while listening to them, or break some furniture. I even like the sound - the whole thing was recorded at Invent-Sound Studio, and the fruit of this hard work was later handed over to Jacek Miłaszewski (known for his work with Acid Drinkers, Turbo, Flapjack and Hunter, among others) to give it an individual character. And well, it worked. If you're Pantera's fan, you should definitely take an interest in "Revolution Machine", because it's a piece of decent music. As of today, the album is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Deezer and Tidal, and you can also order the physical version. In a nice, neat digipak, not in a dilapidated Chinese box...

Originally written for www.metalside.pl