Machinae Supremacy
Overworld

fC64.

For those who learned to read and write in the '80s, this acronym doesn’t just identify the best-selling computer in history (17 million units), but it also brings with it unforgettable memories linked to the beginnings of their video-gaming career and the emotions associated with it. These are emotions that the various consoles that have succeeded over the years, despite their formal perfection, have not been able to match, leaving a large group of nostalgics who even today, twenty years later, are still developing games for the pioneering machine produced by Commodore Business Machine.

Among these nostalgics, the Machinae Supremacy rightfully belong, champions of a genre they themselves defined as "SID Metal": behind this mysterious definition hides nothing other than a modern metal enriched with electronics, where however, the latter doesn’t refer to the usual Bontempi keyboard but rather the use of a SID Station synthesizer (the SID is the audio chip of the C64). The end result is that it wraps the songs in a nostalgic patina that cannot leave indifferent those accustomed to spending an afternoon in the arcade with 500 lire...

And apparently, there are not few who grew up with Pac Man and Pong, given that legal downloads from the band’s website have reached the considerable amount of 3 million over the past years, proving how the Web can serve as an efficient promotional tool and is increasingly supplanting classic demos: given these numbers, the release of an official album was expected, which indeed happened in 2006 with the publication of the more than decent "Reedemer" under the auspices of Spinefarm Records.

And so, two years later, they are back on the market with their third album "Overworld", which presents us with a more mature band, aware of their (great) potential: indeed, where its predecessor somewhat faltered with inconsistency, alternating really spectacular pieces ("Through the Looking Glass" being the standout) with others decidedly negligible, the new release boasts a tracklist free from any particular fillers, with the pleasant effect of leaving the skip button gathering dust during the entire full-length listen.

Conversely, the repeat button has never been so shiny in recent times: It’s true that this disc has only been in my player for less than 24 hours and thus it’s early for rushed conclusions, but I must admit that listening to tracks like "Overworld", "Need for Steve", and "Edge and Pearl" is causing me quite a fair addiction, not to mention the fourth track "Radio Future", whose listening gives chills for how it manages to evoke sensations from a few decades ago which I thought were buried deep within my subconscious...

It would also be unfair not to at least mention the excellent "Truth of Tomorrow", "Violator", and "Dark City" as well as the final track "Stand", additional evidence of the excellent form achieved by the band, while some doubts are raised by the cover of the late pop princess Britney Spears "Gimme More (SID)", as amusing in its intentions as it is negligible in the album’s context.

Finally, deserving of a mention are the intriguing cover and the outstanding production curated by the band themselves at the renowned Fredman Studios, crowning a truly well-packaged work that merits the attention of the less purist fringe of metal and could offer you some pleasant surprises, especially if you are among those who have already passed the first milestone of a quarter-century...