seven

after over a week of listening to this disk, I can finally consider myself ready to review it. as usual with funker vogt releases, the lyrics is quite… amusing (I got my several minutes of laughter listening to "black market dealers" and "cold war" - both excellent examples of "heavyweight", sledgehammer approach to lyrics writing).

as I mentioned in my review of "gunman", the band continues to advance on the same well-known path combining militant electro with repetitive percussion, distorted vocals and english lyrics. where this album is different is the overall feel - it is less "in your face", with some compositions reminding of synthpop fictional (ballad "zeit", pulsing melodic "horizon" with great chorus passages), or even some vnv nation-like hooks present ("the last"). unfortunately, I did not find this crude yet appealing and sincere aggressiveness that funker vogt started out with; "maschine zeit" seems to rely more on melodic elements, spending more time on song arrangements and variety of percussion, somehow losing pure emotional side of the music; and as usual, on every track you cannot help but remember fictional, fusspills11 and earlier funker vogt albums.

among my favorites on the album are "under deck" that features nice tempo changes from heavy militancy to quiet peaceful pieces; addictive "black market dealers" stands out despite its lyrics; "maschine zeit" captures your attention with slightly poppy chorus and nice simple melody backed by heavy beats; "journey" is a classic heavy funker vogt track with clean synths and powerful aggressive percussion.

altogether, this is a polished, quality cd that would definitely find its fans, as long as they do not expect something exceptionally good or innovative. get it for your daily dose of well-done stomping ebm.