Review Summary: An ass-kicking conundrum of muscular riffs and tensile control.
From the glowing ashes of the Welsh sludge band, Taint, a new band blossomed. Originally formed as a trio back in 2012, Welsh rockers Hark trampled into the underground scene with as much finesse as an elephant wearing roller blades. However, it wasn’t until 2 years later that Hark made enough of a gambolling racket to appear on everyone’s radars. Their debut album,
”Crystalline”, was the first part of a journey that led over cosmic bridges between realms of metal, blues and punk with enough riffs crammed to the point of bursting. With a considerable fan base flanking them, Hark has returned to continue the journey with their latest album,
”Machinations”.
Hark’s sophomore album is very much a continuation of their debut album. Clearly, they have identified their own turbulent sound and are using it to their full potential. The opener, ‘Fortune Favours the Insane’, wastes no time introducing the band’s belligerent charisma where James “Jimbob” Isaac rolls Hark over rocky byways reminiscent to Baroness. Particular influences from sludge mentors Corrosion of Conformity and High on Fire are unearthed on ‘Son of Pythagoras’ as Hark express their volley of serpentine riffs with arrogant purposefulness. ‘Nine Fates’ has some of the album’s most imposing riffs situated front and centre of the song but, it also highlights Hark’s lyrical themes throughout
“Machinations”. It describes the dependency that the human race has on technology, which has grown to a craving level of desperation as we concurrently forget our true, free natures.
“Machinations” is so crammed with ideas that it can become quite distracting and, at times, rather tedious. The album closer ‘The Purge’ is the longest track; clocking in close to 9 minutes. The majority of the song is based on a slow, dragging tempo with some weird riff patterns yet the final third of the song jerks itself awake with an animated and lively rhythm and even has an extended ‘Overkill ’-esque conclusion. Unfortunately, this burst of animation arrives past the point of lethargy.
Hark usually produce meaty music that you can really sink your teeth into, but with parts of “
Machinations” it feels like you’re past tasting the succulent fleshy flavours and are left chewing on the untrimmed fat. For instance, all 9 songs feature swerving solos, some of which don’t propel their corresponding songs in any way, and there are some redundant features scattered across the album such as whizzing electronics on ‘Speak In Tongues’ and the instrumental track, ‘Comnixant 3.0’, is placed before ‘The Purge’, enabling the aforementioned song to seem like it lasts even longer. With the recruitment of an extra guitarist to Hark’s ranks, the additional ideas and concepts may be the answer to the swamped nature of
“Machinations” in comparison to their debut record.
Nevertheless, a very organic quality embodies
“Machinations”. This album was naturally crafted out in a rehearsal room, save for a few core riffs written on the road, where arguments and happy accidents may arise. This gives
“Machinations” the raw and honest foundation that Hark work best on. This is particularly apparent during tracks like ‘Transmutilation’, where the band settles into a core groove that twists into a berserk rhythm section that really conveys Hark’s abilities. Rather than create an album on some digital software and getting the members to play alongside, which would be contrary to their lyrical messages, Hark embraces the old, original and organic pure rock fury.
