Any number of things will catch one's attention were one to simply LISTEN to the record and ignore Gizmachi’s pedigree (e.g. being signed to the lead Slipknot Clown's label). To my ears, it was quickly apparent that the drumming is top notch. Breakdowns and fills abound and are played with abandon. There are some fantastic lead guitars reminiscent of the Bay Area Thrash scene. The riffs are often of the almost generic chugga-chugga style but sometimes imbued, ahem, with the heft of a Meshuggah or a Sepultura. The vocals range from hardcore shouts to melancholic wails to Nu-Metal whispering to spoken word to rasps beneath sung lines to maybe even more.

To put it bluntly, Gizmachi clearly have a lot going on with their music. However, nothing is truly groundbreaking here and the band can be accused of incorporating a lot of influences at once, perhaps too many. While this is sometimes tedious it can make for an interesting listen. One piece of solid criticism I will offer is that each song seems to be overly long and some of the components in each could be excised. We're talking 8 songs in 46 minutes. Chaos? Controlled. Melody? Twisted. Sometimes, unfortunately for them, Gizmachi merely sound like rehashed Slipknot leaving one to think "Has the Clown been cloned?"

As intimated before, specific points of reference include Mudvayne, Demon Hunter's sophomore album, Meshuggah’s "Nothing," and any Slipknot that does not mention bone gnawers. Fans of the above and Ozzfest attendees (who will see Gizmachi since they've been included on the second stage) should well appreciate this band and their debut record if they can translate their recorded sound well in the live setting. Check 'em out and watch this site for a contest comin' to you soon.

written by Tony Belcher

Playing time: 46.06