With today’s political climate, Seattle has become one of the biggest major players for uprising and revolution. From the autonomous zone in Capitol Hill to weeks and weeks of Black Lives Matter protests, The Emerald City is built on bucking the system. Enter RiotLegion, whose mastermind Michael Coultas has been pounding the pavement and the bass since 2008. His newest effort, Machine Liberation, is a nasty, gritty endeavor, refusing to conform. On the whole, it’s a great listen.
“For Security” draws first blood with plenty of fuzz and a mid-tempo groove. Picking up the bass and the static is “Jacked,” with an ascending lead synth line. The vocals sound robotic, electronically vocaloid in a way, with a pounding kick driving things forward. “Out Of My Head” maintains a frenetic pace, with thumping bass lines and a dance floor ready sound. It’s got a repetitive melody, not a lot of actual lyrics, and bass that you’ll feel in your feet and in your chest.
The bass used on “Affirmation” is downright burrowing and rattling. It’s a simple track, somehow more so than the previous one, but it is easily one of the strongest on the album. “Field Day” has exactly what the title implies, with clanging percussion and a “fuck you” attitude. It’s a sonic pipebomb, followed up by the aftershock that is “Decimator.” It’s a simple bass line, but damn if it isn’t effective.
“The One You Deserve” has an old-school electro feel to it, while “Cease to Be” gets by on a monster main riff and a more methodical, mid-tempo delivery. Then we get into one of the biggest selling points of this record, “Liberation,” executed with the help of Maxx Destrukt. The bass lines dance all over creation, and the vocals have the distortion of classic industrial music.
“Funded” has a fun main riff, even if the two main synth lines only play so well with each other. It’s a lot of bells and whistles for an album that, up to now, hasn’t needed or used that many. Closing things off is a more metallic backbone that holds up “Playback Reality,” with another scaling melody and little guitar flourishes playing off of that. The use of ride cymbals over the drum programming is a nice production choice, and while it feels a little weird against the more aggressive tones we’ve heard so far, it’s a fine track.
Machine Liberation is a product of its environment and the times. Despite a couple of odd choices in execution and production, it’s got some absolutely crushing tunes to be heard. It moves, it grooves, and will destroy speakers at will.
Machine Liberation is available now via Blind Mice Productions.
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