The veteran Singapore band have seemingly found their stride more than a decade in.
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Singapore may not be on many metalheads’ radar, but the scene definitely has something special in Deus Ex Machina. The melodeath meets thrash outfit has taken their time to craft their album III, 13 years to be exact. But the heavy metal bruisers have certainly carved out a niche for themselves in a sometimes crowded genre.
Kicking off with “Ignition” III hits the ground running with an up tempo rhythm, infectious chantable lyrics, and a guitar solo that begs for a windmill. Deus Ex Machina have married the tone and melodicism of their Northern European melodeath brethren, with the energy of thrash. “Halt”, is anything but stationary and ranks amongst the most energetic of the album’s eight tracks with a solid nod to Iron Maiden’s galloping riffs. “As Is” leans more heavily into early 80’s thrash – with one hell of a long guitar solo segment, if you get your kicks on minute-and-a-half to fretboard noodling, you’ll have a blast here.
The album’s second half shows that not all territory has been explored, leaning more into the progressive side of the metal spectrum. “Eyes Wide Shut” ebbs and flows and is easy to get lost. “The Sands of Time” kicks off with a particularly thrashy opening, but brings in clean vocals for the first time on the album for an additional layer.
Deus Ex Machina has made one blast of a melodic death metal album, that is more than just a clone of the Scandinavian scene, but still carries the epic quality of the genre, even if the edge has been decidedly sharpened. The production is both lively and gritty, making it overall exciting to listen to. Hopefully we don’t need to wait another 13 years for a follow up. III was released on August 21, 2022 and you can purchase your copy HERE.
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