Artist: GodHead Machinery
Title: Masquerade Among Gods
Genre: Black Metal / Death Metal
Release Date: 2nd July 2021
Label: Black Lion Records
Album Review
GODHEAD MACHINERY was nothing but an idea way back in the mists of 2014. They were atoms and other cosmic particles floating around in the air like a consciousness looking for a body to inhabit. And then they found one. In the country of Sweden, Norrkoping to be precise, where they are from, all the right things came together and brought Godhead Machinery into being. Robert Kail Karlsson being the catalyst. In that time, they have released numerous singles and two albums via Inverse Records. “Have you heard these albums?” I hear you say. No I’ve not, but I shall after completing my baptism with this EP.
On first listen I find it a satisfying listen. It has a floaty airy feel to it. No track in particular stands out at this point, the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Images of a dancing wind snaking its way through the trees by the River Lydd on Dartmoor, shaking the trees and waking ethereal beings from slumbers before shooting up the White Lady Waterfall, atomising the water into magical limbs that dance in the sunlight at dusk. The EP is grandiose but not overblown and pompous, but always airy. Nothing here is cluttered. Ideas have not been allowed to run wild without restraint. In fact, there’s a sense of restrained unleashing. As if the guitars know when to gallop and when to cantor. The drums pump up the tension without assaulting the eardrums to perforation. This is not unlike CRADLE OF FILTH during the ‘Midian’ era or recent SCHAMMASH.
Like them the sound is sinewy and metallic dark with a satisfaction that’s most definitely not sugary. Yes, it’s well produced, 4 tracks leave me wanting more, but there isn’t any so I play on a loop a few times until gluttony stops me. The first track ‘Magna Mortalitas’ opens with the buzz of flies busy on the remains of a rotting corpse. The bass has a satisfying hum to it as it potters and meanders through the track, buzzing here and punchy there… The aforementioned ethereal beings are here in abundance on ‘Upon His Deceitful Star’, showing themselves for a brief moment before melting their forms back into their surroundings. ‘Vulture Excarnation’ starts with a bouncy guitar swinging vibe to it that also does not hide its veneer of menace. My eyes narrow and my expression gets sterner. I tense my body and jerk it to the thud of the bass; my sinews reveal themselves as I exclaim to the wall in front of me. Love it!
And finally, the title track, ‘Masquerading Among Gods’. There is nothing but blackness, wet and mossy. Penetrated by streaked light from above. Jesus Christ in a leather jacket, soaked through to the bone, the light shines on unreadable eyes. You can sense that something is just beneath the surface but getting it to reveal itself is a job in itself… Thoroughly enjoyed this, I highly recommend it!
Tracklist
01. Magna Mortalitas
02. Upon His Deceitful Star
03. Vulture Excarnation
04. Masquerade Among Gods
Line-up
Niklas Ekwall – Vocals
Robert Kail Karlsson – Guitars
Tommy Ericson – Guitars
Daniel Forsberg – Bass
Krysztof Klingbein – Drums
Website
https://www.godheadmachinery.com / https://www.facebook.com/GodheadMachinery
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 7
Sound: 7
Total: 7 / 10
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