Have you been on edge since MACHINAE SUPREMACY released their cover of ESSENGER & SCANDROID‘s “Empire of Steel,” waiting for new material? Well, you’re not alone, because we love us some MASU here and that cover was so damned good that we immediately began craving something new and original. Well, good news everybody! September 24th, 2021, marked the release of “Pendulum,” a fresh new track from our Swedish-Finnish brothers.
There’s something new and fresh in the two songs MACHINAE SUPREMACY have released this year. Something about it feels… modern? They’ve gotten a good taste for a creative implementation of electronic elements right now. However, if you’re hoping for something super musically creative, à la “Twe27ySeven,” this is not that song, nor is it a bonanza of SID-metal. It’s a pretty strong radio-friendly, catchy, and singalong-able MASU track though, so if you just want to dance and sing and put your fist in the air, have no fear, this is that song!
What is the most striking and wonderful about “Pendulum” is perhaps two things: the wonderfully poignant lyrics by Robert Stjärnström and the vocal layering he has with regular collaborator, Ingeborg Ekeland. Seriously, how beautiful and relevant is the line, “you are more than what’s been done to you”?! Augh, I love this band so much. Some might consider the key-change cheesy, but I think it allowed for Rob and Ingeborg to have a lot of fun harmonizing as the song plays towards the end, so it works really well in context of the whole piece. Also, can I just pause here to say once again that Ingeborg is amazing! Norway needs to share this gem with the rest of us more often!
MACHINAE SUPREMACY are, simply, a regular highlight in the local* music scene. It’s nice to see how they develop symbiotically with their music and inspirations and thoughts about the world, but still always feel like they’re on the side of good: togetherness, support, and love. There’s an inherent positivity and hope in there, even if there’s critique or commentary. Also, their music just rules, so it’s nice to have that great riffing we know and love. If you haven’t checked this song out yet for some reason, there’s a nice little AMV done by Jujutsu Kaisen here…
*though MASU are not technically Finnish, they have such a strong and loyal following in Finland, not to mention one of their guitarists (Tomi Luoma) is Finnish, so I have always considered them a local band, in spirit if not in passports
