The Smashing Pumpkins
MACHINA/The Machines of God
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Meerkats
Neil Freese, March, 2000
The fad of grunge and alternative rock has
long since passed. The seeds of angst and anger that this
musical genre planted have flowered into a new mainstream
that now cherishes “new metal” acts such as Korn and
Limp Bizkit. But out of the tragedy and sorrow of alt-rock’s
demise, the Smashing Pumpkins have risen numerous times only to
be bombarded by the critics and plagued by bad luck.
But as “MACHINA/The Machines of God” opens to a
rumbling and distorted guitar rift, you know that the
Smashing Pumpkins have survived, and they are true champions of rock. After the
commercial failure of their last effort “Adore” to
continue their early 90’s success, the Pumpkins reunited with original drummer
Jimmy Chamberlain to create an admittedly “more
commercial” album--one that would remind people that they were still around.
As vocalist/guitarist Billy Corgan proclaims their return
on the first single, ‘The Everlasting Gaze”, he sings
“You know I’m not dead/ now you know where I’ve been”; with this album,
he is reclaiming his throne as one of the best songwriters of the last
ten years.
“Machina” is a great album. While
it pales in comparison to earlier Pumpkins albums such as
“Siamese Dream”, it does good not to harken back to
the past. The musical style of the Pumpkins has definitely changed, but though
the new album lacks the guitar driven chordage of albums
past, it is beautiful in it’s development of other sounds.
“Machina” doesn’t rely on loud guitar; in fact, it greatly utilizes
(now ex-bassist) D’Arcy’s impressive skills, and Chamberlain’s masterful
drumming. Corgan and lead guitarist James Iha weave a collage of
intricate guitar parts into a collection of songs that are fresh, new and
evolved as compared to the stale and stagnant leftover’s of today’s rock.
Where as most bands today seem to reuse and effectively destroy a style
of music by overexposing it, the Pumpkins have moved on,and created beautiful
music with enough mainstream kick to keep them in demand. I recommend ‘Machina”
to any Smashing Pumpkins fan, and for that matter, anyone
who enjoys good music. But don’t expect any guitar heroics
or alt-rock throwbacks; this is a new start for the Pumpkins, and
a good one at that.