Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #8

#8 - Circle of Dust - Machines of our Disgrace



I spent so many years talking about how Circle of Dust was one of those bands that I would absolutely love to see revived. I never assumed it would actually happen, or that it would be this good. Last year we got a peek into the mind of Klayton and what he had been doing in reviving his original project. Contagion dropped at #11 on our countdown (read here) and I predicted that there would probably be a song off of the full-length release come 2017. The album is chock-full of crunching guitars and electric synths that pound and pulverize you into following whatever path it may lead you down. Outside In reminds you of the more ballad-esque hits on "Disengage" while k_OS and Hive Mind blend the industrial and electronica sides of Klayton's brain to perfection.

The two most crushing tracks on the record (after Contagion) are Humanarchy and the title track. Machines opens and is dotted with old-school sci-fi excerpts and builds itself up with blistering guitars before utterly crushing you on the verses. Perhaps my favorite line of the year comes on the 2nd verse -  

"Metastasizing in such a willing host - the real disease has been mis-diagnosed. 
Dehumanizing and difficult to face - we build our own destruction; the machines of our disgrace". 


Yikes.  The song itself is a warning about the power of technology overtaking us all, and the video features Klayton playing all of the instruments while two people are walking through life completely entranced by their phones. The sonic battery doesn't cease until the song is over, and if you're like me you'll probably find yourself immediately scrambling to replay the song, just in case you missed any of the madness. Machines chalked up 160k streams on Spotify, and the man behind the madness has already started making plans to release another album, perhaps as soon as next year!

You know I'll be there!








Title: Machines of our Disgrace
Artist: Circle of Dust
Album: Machines of our Disgrace





Previous #8s
2016: Jess Lamb and The Factory - End of the Line
2015: Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do
2014: Sleeper Agent - Waves
2013: Paper Route - Letting You Let Go
2012: Demon Hunter - Dead Flowers
2011: Emmure - Children of Cybertron
2010: 30 Seconds to Mars - Kings and Queens
2009: Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

No comments:

Post a Comment