Reversion Album Review

Picking up where many metal bands left off, Machete Justice sets the bar high with their most excellent début album Reversion. Hailing from Tauranga in New Zealand, the quintessential four-piece band aims for the sky with an album not for the faint hearted.

Forged from all that is good in the land of heavy metal, Machete Justice tempers their sound in the flames of history’s finest. With elements of Pantera morphing nicely into alternative polyrhythms in the vein of Meshuggah, Reversion effectively builds further on some of the most influential metal releases of all time. It doesn’t hurt that the production is damn good as well.

Staking out a large musical territory undefined by a single genre, Machete Justice incorporates many diverse sounds from heavy rock to doom, thrash and speed metal with elements of death ever present in the mix. Incorporating all these genres gives a truly original sound that ensures Machete Justice a diverse fan base.

Finding the perfect balance between angry vocals and blistering rhythms coupled with melodic intervals “Pity For The Haunted” has to be the stand out track, with some great guitar breaks and dynamic chord changes that never quit. The equally brutal song “Reckless” is another excellent display of controlled chaos. Its heavily saturated dark power chords tinged with swamp grunge a sound to behold.

Lead vocalist Tarquin Keys’ angry scream, interspersed with sometimes operatic harmonies by Mark Wright, work their magic while Simon Power on drums swaps effectively between blistering blast beats to polymetered cycles that will leave even the seasoned pros impressed. Mark Wrights’ standout guitar solo on “South Of The Border” and exceptional technical skills throughout the entire album is nicely complemented by Jared Dykes seamlessly playing a five string bass.

The entire release is solid with the beautiful outro “Waiata Ua (Rain Song)” giving a delicate contrast I hope to hear explored further on upcoming releases.

Reversion is a must have album for connoisseurs of fine metal.