Album review: THE BANISHMENT – Machine And Bone

Frontiers [Release date 10.03.23]

From Dokken and Lynch Mob to End Machine, KXM and more, George Lynch has been on quite some rock’n’roll journey.

And is still.

He and his new world bandmates, Producer/Mixer/Writer, Joe Haze and vocalist, Devix AKA dive deep into the bleak, mechanical soundscapes of Industrial Metal, (the band call themselves The Banishment, and their music, “Dream Punk” and who are we to argue) and emerge with a bunch of undeniably colourful tracks, each quaking with pneumatically powered riffs and armour plated electronica.

All these songs were conceived during the pandemic when introspection was the dominant mood. Initially planned as instrumentals, it was only when Devix got on board and added lyrics that they turned into as near “proper songs” as we’re going to get.

They are joined by a select trio of big names in the genre.

You can’t really go wrong with some high intensity Richard (Filter) Patrick: ‘Max Pain’ is everything that the title and the artist together might suggest.

There’s a surprisingly great hard rock song from Tommy (Prong) Victor. Surprising in that the song, ‘Right’, has a recognisable hook and conventional rock song shape. Victor also contributes ‘Terror’, an object lesson in hi speed sensory overload. Dark and sinister, hardbodied and combative, it fits the album like a chainmail glove.

The gnarly, southern rock drawls of third guest, Jason Charles Miller, guitarist, vocalist and frontman of industrial rock specialists, Godhead, changes the album’s gearing up onto a more mainstream rock plane, but it’s all relative.

These tracks are inclined to cast a giant shadow over the rest of the album, but where it’s all glued together by Lynch’s guitar groove, a solid mix of power and aggression, then strong band tracks – the Kingdom Come lookalike ‘Reaction’ and the bubbling electronica of ‘Lost Horizon’ – complex and thematic, rise quickly to the surface.

An arguably unorthodox move by the label, but the album sees Lynch move into increasingly familiar territory. ***1/2

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024

IZZY REIGN Spooky Scary Skeletons (FiXT)
THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

Featured Albums w/c 28 October 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)