Sydney-based garage rockers & all-round larrikins Before the King have relocated our ears to the howling slopes of Mount EverShred with their latest single 'Fast Machine.' The song holds special significance for the band, stating:
“‘Fast Machine’ is the first song we ever wrote together, and through four recording sessions and countless iterations, it has remained a staple of our live set.”
The song starts off with some deadly bass, caught in the depths of the Mariana Trench. This bass is so fat that it needs to go on a diet. Fortunately, it comes packaged with a kick-drum treadmill to keep it marching.
It is then that the narrator of our piece, Dean Smusko, comes in with honeyed words and whiskey smooth production. These tonsil ticklers shoot past his teeth and right into our whisper holes, with each little hair picking up the black-forest-rich vocals as the song stomps forward.
The chonky monkeys then unleash a ripping thunder guitar-strum as the song picks up and turns the tingles to overdrive.
From here, our story picks up in gusto and the cogs keep turning as the guitar and drums get increasingly excited like a kid on a sugar-rush. But just like all sticky sugar-fuelled children, they have to crash some time.
And that's when the main motif of the song kicks in. Hard and staccato, it slashes through like the f*ked-up lovechild of Jack White & AC/DC (in a good way).
This is when the band starts punching in full-swing. This section could get everyone in the crowd headbanging and noodle dancing.
It sort of reminds me of the song 'Black Math,' but if it was covered by your car's dodgy mechanic, who sung only about cars, and his engine-oil-slicked ponytail caught alight halfway through when the chorus kicked in. Dazzling and sleek, this song will put hairs on your chest.
After this we get another little snippet of building prog-rock. this time the drums are doing a spicy bit of double-tap on the kick, and we all know that's the secret code for "prepare yourselves," because it's about to get even B I G G E R.
Then we get a sneaky little bass lick, heralding the return of The Mighty Bridge. This is where the song starts to go down a rabbit hole of pure delve. Spiralling downwards, we are sucked into the inky black depths and arrive at the molten-iron core inside each and every guitar.
The buzzing roll of the snare gives us two tickets to Climax Town, as we get thrown into a chorus reprisal. Bigger and juicier than before, this is where people will really start jumping around at a gig.
Breaking down and getting jiggy with it, the song starts to crumble and explode from here on out. Just have a cheeky listen for yourself:
'Fast Machine' will have an accompanying music video released soon in the following weeks. Be sure to keep your peepers, listeners & feelers locked on them, because it's sure to be a banger.
Comments