| ... and then your publishing label goes under in a class-action lawsuit, taking your first deal and the first 1,000 copies of your debut record with it.
What would you do? Where other bands attempt to charge for DIY copies for their three-track bedroom demo, Burn Machina start giving away their debut studio album for free, shifting upwards of two hundred copies within the first twelve hours, not counting downloads which to date are well into the thousands.
They formed back in early 2004 after quitting their respective previous bands. Max and Karl, tired of compromising over musicianship, egos or genre aspirations, evolved a short-lived side-project into their central concern, and recruited Jonny several weeks later on the basis of a rock-solid audition. Their original second guitarist, an escapee from a local indie-rock outfit, was hired to complete their aggressive dual-guitar attack.
Burn Machina's commitment and dedication started to pay off, as a succession of stunning shows attracted audiences who would come back for more, sometimes travelling hundreds of miles, inspired by their awesome stage presence. Word of mouth was such that their first Manchester outings were right at the top of the bill, other bands intimidated at the prospect of following an act that carries a permanent hard core following of a hundred plus fans who all know Max's lyrics as well as the he does and need no encouragement to show it. Burn Machina even upstaged major touring act Breed 77 on their Preston turf in late 2004.
They came back stronger after a short hiatus to replace their former guitarist with Rik, and scored a publishing deal almost immediately with Phonometrography in early 2005, joining a roster that included Hafler Trio, Autechre and Jonsi Birgisson of Sigur Ros, and hit the studio for two weeks in March to lay down ‘La Tormenta’, eleven tracks of pure anger-fuelled adrenalin, comparable to the uncompromising vitriol of Rage Against That Machine and counterpointed by melodic and rhythmic intelligence similar to that of Soundgarden or A Perfect Circle.
After four months of hollow promises from their publisher followed by a final confession that the release would remain unfunded, Burn Machina brushed aside worries that they might not make any money from the record, and set about getting their music to their fans by whichever means possible.
This is not a band that bothers with concerns over how post-modern-retro-ironic they ought to be, or how cool it is to be low-fi or emo or easily labelled. Nothing scares this band. They embrace their influences with love, respect and vital energy and they work relentlessly to do them justice. 'La Tormenta' is testament to this, a raw, powerful and mesmerising excursion into the band's vision of the World as it stands, these eleven tracks barely contain Burn Machina's compelling intensity and aggression. Covering the band's career to date, the album features some tracks originally penned by frontman Max before the band was formed including 'Children of Columbine', the bones of which date back to 1999, as well as tracks such as 'Gun Shai' and 'As Good As It Gets' that were written collaboratively in preparation for the recording.
In addition to lining up and packing out show after show, Burn Machina have been tirelessly promoting their music through mediums such as soundclick.com, where they held a top 5 position in the metal charts for three weeks running. Their myspace site has also been very successful, generating over 1,000 plays in under two weeks. The overwhelmingly positive response that the band have received overall is further proof, were any more needed, that Burn Machina are a force to be reckoned with, and capable of huge worldwide success.
August 2005 |
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