When I first received ESCALATIONUNIT CHAOS ENGINE’s EP, “Machines Never Die”, I had no idea what to expect from them musically. The name of the band set me back. As a rule of thumb I try to avoid most bands that have names longer than three words and I was cautious about this one. Well this is one of the few times when my rule of thumb has failed because even after one listen I was in love with ESCALATIONUNIT CHAOS ENGINE.
“Machines Never Die” presents a modern Post-Thrash approach towards Heavy Metal in the vein of bands like FEAR FACTORY and THREAT SIGNAL. So many comparisons can be made between ESCALATIONUNIT CHAOS ENGINE and these two bands because they all write in a similar fashion. Quite frankly, “Machines Never Die” easily could have been a lost FEAR FACTORY EP.
The music is intense and mechanical in its structure with lots of heavy riffs laden with palm mutes and furious odd rhythm arrangements. There are not many leads and no solos present on the EP but there is still some melody intertwined into the guitars. The bass becomes a heavy influence on the compression of the sound within “Machines Never Die” and incorporating that with some insane drum mixes and you have a versatile death march on your hands. The drums play a huge role in how the EP builds in speed and momentum to suddenly stop or pull back. Listening to some songs is like riding a roller coaster of Progressive Hardcore at times.
The vocals have a specific Burton C. Bell (FEAR FACTORY) sound to them. Granted its mostly the Death Metal roars and none of the singing even though the vocalist does throw some variety in the mix with harsh screeches and whispers. Not quite the range I was hoping for but still impressive.
“Machines Never Die” is a fun ride from start to finish and one of my favorite EPs of the year. I wish it was a full album because I wanted to hear so much more of the band. I end up just turning the player on repeat instead. A great CD for fans of Industrialized Death Metal like FEAR FACTORY or THREAT SIGNAL.
Songs to check out: “Wake”, “Machines Never Die”, “Edge Of Madness”.

9.5 of 10 points

Matt

After reading the bio on these guys from Germany called Escalationunit Chaos Engine (or EUCE for short) and finding out their stage show consists of branding irons, bullhorns, sound samples and other fun stuff I figured I’d be in for a pretty odd ride to say the least. The band is described as “Neo-Thrash-Metal-Core paired with percussion instruments”. I’m not quite sure what all of the various genre tags are for, but I’ll sum it up easier: hardcore and death meets industrial.
Musically they really aren’t bad. In fact, they’re quite good without using a lot of sampling that drowns the otherwise innovative music like some bands. It’s a lot of straight-forward head-banging music that is angry without driving you into a Prozac-laden frenzy. The songs have good flow, good structure and EUCE seems to have a good grasp on how to create a solid “core” CD that isn’t crap.
This is the band’s fourth release since 1998 and they have just completed a small tour of the U.S. last year. This offering, “Machines Never Die”, spills over into melodic death metal without losing the edge of hardcore throughout. It’s by no means a boring effort, and since I’m not familiar with the entire back catalog I might be more inclined to test those proverbial waters pretty soon.
Tracks include “Obsernation”, “Wake”, “Machines Never Die”, “Edge of Madness”, and “Riven by Grief”. The more I’m listening to this CD the better it’s getting, so I’d recommend it if you’re into the aforementioned genre meshing.

Nine of Ten – good job!

Chris Pratl