Machina/The Machines Of God Review

Date Of Release : February 29, 2000

The Smashing Pumpkins are a Alternative rock/ Grunge band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988.

The band's members consist of: (note: during this album D'arcy left the band and very little of her bass lines were used on this album, Billy and James did the bass for this album)

• Billy Corgan (Lead Vocals, Guitar)
• D'arcy Wretzky (Bass)
• James Iah (Guitar)
• Jimmy Chamberlin (Drums)

The Smashing Pumpkins we're one of the most commercially and critically successful alternative rock/ grunge bands of the 90's. Getting their big break with their album Siamese Dream, later following it up with the highly successful, double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.

However internal fighting, drug use, and diminishing record sales would eventually lead to the band breaking up in the year 2000. Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin eventually reunited in 2006 to make another album and are still going on to this day, James Iah also rejoined in 2018.

The Smashing Pumpkins have been one of my favorite bands that I've recently been listening to. It all started in December of last year when I first listened to their album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. An album I loved so much it was number 2 on my Top 10 albums I listened to in the year 2021. Since then I've listened to Siamese Dream and Machina/ The Machines of God, both albums that are just incredible to me.

I was debating whether to review either Siamese Dream or Machina. After some thought though I eventually settled on Machina. After all everybody knows just how amazing Siamese Dream is, so I think I'd be better to talk about one of their more underrated albums. One aspect I love about the songs from this album are the Electronica influences on some of the songs, it gives them a unique sound. What absolutely baffles me though is that this album didn't sell well. I really find that hard to believe.

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Songs

The Everlasting Gaze
What a way to open an album! This song waste no time and smacks you in the face with heavily distorted guitar riffs. When the chorus hits you can faintly hear these electronic notes that add this cool layer of sound to the song. I also love the part towards the end of the song where all the instruments abruptly stop and it's just Billy Corgan singing. Lyrically this song is about the in-between period between this album and the previous album Adore.

Raindrops + Sunshine
This song has the Electronic influences in full force. The bass line on this song is very thick and chunky. I love how the drumming on this song makes it feel like it's rolling. Billy's signing mixes well with the electronic notes as well. I also adore the lyrics on this song, mostly because it incorporates rain into them. I can just picture a rainy day with this song in the background. However I feel like this song goes on a bit too much and it does get a bit repetitive. It's not too much of a bother to me though.

Stand Inside Your Love
Words can't describe how much I love this song, easily my favorite off the album. The pounding of the drums in the beginning along with that silk-like guitar riff and Billy's soft signing makes for a wonderful combo. This is one of the best love songs I've heard, it's emotional and the lyrics are beautiful. For example, "You're everything I want and ask for. You're all that I dreamed of. Who wouldn't be the one you love, who wouldn't stand inside your love". This song is just pure beauty.

I Of The Mourning
For starters I love the guitar pedal used for this song, it gives it this nice, soft, shoegaze feel. This song also has some sweet guitar solos. I also like how Billy's singing overpowers the instruments in this song. Especially so because of the lyrics, this one again is about that the in-between period between this album and the previous. I feel though that it hits harder on here. Especially the lyric, "I've blown the dust off my guitar, in the attic with the stars. I read your letters to feel better, my tears upon the faded ink". The inclusion of him reading a fan letter to make him happy puts a smile on my face, it's really wholesome.

The Sacred And Profane
The bass along with the drums and electronic notes make for this awesome steady beat. The guitars on this track, like the previous one are slower but have these really cool riffs playing. However I feel as though the instruments overpower Billy Corgan's singing, so much so that you can't really hear what he's saying, which sucks.

Try, Try, Try
Despite the Pop vibes this song gives off it's incredibly depressing but beautiful. The lyrics are full of wonderful, descriptive imagery. A Verse I love for example are, "Paperback scrawl your hidden poems. Written around the dried out flowers. Here we are still trading places, try to hold on". The synthesizers and drums are a big standout in this song as well.

I really gained new found appreciation for this song when I watched the music video for it. My god it was miserable. I don't talk about the music videos as I like to focus only on the music but I'd like to make an exception for this song. That video is really hard to watch yet I appreciate it for that. It made me glassy eyed because it's real, something a few people experience but hardly get talked about. if you happen to have some spare time I encourage you to watch it. It gives this song a totally different meaning then If you were to just listen to it. Especially when Billy sings "Try to hold on".

Heavy Metal Machine
As the name of the song suggests, yes this does indeed get heavy. They waste no time and hit you with this heavy, evil sounding guitar riff. The heavily distorted guitars from The Everlasting Gaze make a welcome return here as well. This a fun song to listen to. Lyrically, Billy Corgan asks a question, "If I were to die would my records sell? Would you guys even care?". Pretty heavy stuff, even more so when you add in the fact that this album was going to be their final send off.

This Time
Synthesizers make a come back on this track as well as the guitar pedals used on the song I Of The Mourning . Drumming on this track is nice and tight. Once again this song leans more on the pop side of things. Lyrically this song is about Billy Corgan asking his band mates if they're 100% certain with breaking up. Because once they do sure, they can reunite but will it ever be the same? One verse that really drives it home for me is, "Some day we'll wave hello and wish we'd never waved goodbye".

The Imploding Voice
Guitar wise, this song does something pretty cool. There's two guitars, one heavily distorted the other using the pedal from the previous songs. It makes this song sound incredibly unique, the hollow sound coming from the drums also sounds pretty cool. This track goes back towards being more heavy. Towards the end Billy repeats a line that goes, "Everywhere you are" his voice gets very nasally, even more than it already is. To a point where it kinda makes me cringe.

Glass And The Ghost Children
A song pushing almost 10 minutes, Billy's singing is great on here. The instruments on this song are really only there to make noise. Around the 4 minute mark all instruments stop and a piano plays, while Billy is just talking for about 2 minutes. Needless to say I don't like this track at all, it's pretty boring and I tend to skip it.

Wound
Another song that leans more towards the Pop sound. I love Billy's signing on this one, especially when he stretches his voice out. The bass on this song is a powerful force. The guitar riffs when paired with the synthesizers give this song a fantasy feel to it. One verse I love off this song is, "Unloved and cities burning. Awake in my arms, you cry unharmed. Our age of the hours, while they still devour all".

The Crying Tree Of Mercury
This song is on the more mellow and slower pace. The guitars are playing these beautiful arpeggios and when mixed with the heavy synthesizers they come out with a great sound. Towards the middle of the song this heavily distorted guitar comes out of nowhere and starts playing riffs that makes this song sound much more awesome.

With Every Light
This starts off with a bouncy feel to it. Compared to other songs on the album this one is sweet and soft. The inclusion of the piano was a very nice touch. This song relies on the soft riff played by the guitar. The reason this song is more softer than others is because Billy Corgan dedicated this song to his mother, which I find incredibly sweet. Even when he's singing he's talking directly at her. It has a nice ending as well, beautiful song overall.

Blue Skies Bring Tears
A slower paced song, this song sounds futuristic, like some UFO is gonna come take me away. The heavily distorted guitar comes back to strum a chord every now and then on this song too. Other than that I don't got a lot to say about this song, it's pretty average. Though I do like how as it slowly inches towards the end, the distorted guitar keeps getting louder and louder, along with Billy's singing, which also gets distorted.

Age Of Innocence
The closing song off the album. Right off the bat this song sounds like something that could've been on Mellon Collie. It's really catchy. I like how in the beginning it's just Billy's singing, drums, and a phenomenal bass line. It isn't until a minute and 30 seconds in where the guitars jump in, giving the song that missing layer of sound it needed. Overall this was a great way to close off the album.

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Final Thoughts
All in all Machina/ The Machines Of God was an awesome album! A product of a band going through rough times. This album has themes of Love, things coming to an end, and saying goodbye. Truly an underrated album from them, I still don't understand how this album did poorly in sales. Regardless I do recommend this album to fans of Alternative rock and Pop. Though if you're a newcomer to Smashing Pumpkins I would suggest you to listen to Siamese Dream and/or Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness first. As I think they better capture what they truly are musically. This album was more experimental for them.

If I had to rate this album out of 10: 9/10

Songs I Liked:

• The Everlasting Gaze
• Raindrops + Sunshowers
• Stand Inside Your Love
• I of The Mourning
• The Sacred And Profane
• Try, Try, Try
• Heavy Metal Machine
• This Time
• The Imploding Voice
• Wound
• With Every Light
• Age Of Innocence

Songs I Disliked:

• Glass And The Ghost Children

For those interested in checking it out here's a preview song: