The God Machine – Scenes From The Second Storey

was about to write ,
not as good as their 2nd album ,
but !?!!?

The God Machine's debut album is long with its 78 minutes and alongside cd it also came out on double LP. 'Scenes From The Second Storey' features remakes of four tracks of the earlier EP's: Home, The Blind Man and Purity of the 'Purity' EP (1991) and The Desert Song of the eponymous EP (1992). Their music could not be put in a genre box - their biggest concern - it just stands on itself. Too heavy for the indie crowd, and too indie for the heavy fans, as Proper-Sheppard explained in Belgian Peek-A-Boo-Magazine in april 2016. Or too English for the Americans and too American for the English. Very spacious and atmospheric, very intense and non-compromising yet melodic in a way. Difficult to define, they dealt in earblowing doom structures in the best Black Sabbath tradition combined with quieter harmonic parts. With use of reverberation and distortion for creating a desolate, aloof or unwilling emotion. As said the band fought with genres, alternating heavy music with spacious, hypnotic moments. I can only conclude that it's a complete album with no flying off the rails. Recorded in London, engineer Kenny Jones did a great job mixing it all so well. The band itted they had all the artistic freedom from Fiction Records they could've wished for. This payed off because 'Scenes...' is no more or less than a record for life and just stunning as a debut! Things for The God Machine ended abruptly with the death of bass-player Fernandez who suddenly died from brain hemorrhage. It was in Prague, where they had been recording the songs for their second album. On the 23rd may of 1994, with the recording and the mixing finished, Jimmy had to go to hospital suffering strong headaches. He fell in a coma and died that very day because of an inoperable brain tumour. Soon after, Proper-Sheppard and Austin very decisively called TGM a day staying loyal to the heritage of their friend. That is why The God Machine remained relatively obscure to the great public. Their artistic life was short. Not much fuzz was made about their ending as they didn't themselves...

Can anyone help in identifying the Voix De Bulgares sample as used in Home?

Both ´scenes from the second storey` and `one last laugh in a place of dying` have been re-pressed in november 2010. Finally these musical masterpieces are available again, for a new generation. These albums haven´t been available for years and if you were able to get a copy, prices were astronomically high. I managed to get myself a copy of `scenes from the second storey` on vinyl, and ordered the cd´s again as well. This is not music for the faint harted. Lyrics are often dark and depressing, yet pure and recognizable. The music hoovers between classical, dark psychedelic soundscapes and dark rock with a voice that´s both serene and troubling. To me these albums are the high point of early 90´s rock and is at a musical peak that, in my humble opinion, not many bands have ever reached, before or after.

There is a deep stillness and beauty at the heart of this thunderstorm of distorted and guitar and tribal crashing drums. God Machine seemed to speak of the divine at work in the seeming madness of the world. Stranger and deeper than any of the other rock of the time, and has matured with age.

Peace Jimmy, in the void.

One of the most powerful and moving rock/metal records ever done, period. Although you can still smell an influence of grunge (there was a hardly a way to get around in 1992), God Machine were onto something special here. Furious tracks like "I've Seen The Man" and "Out" both of which are dealing with anger and confusion are interspersed with weird (and sometimes eerie) atmospheric numbers like "Seven" (featuring extended clarinet solo) and "Purity" all of which make album stand out head and shoulders above work of many rock bands who were active in the early 90s.
History and fate weren't very kind to God Machine, but it also makes for an understanding why there's very little forced emotions on this album. At the very least this album provided a glimpse into what could've been, if it wasn't for their tragic demise just two years after this record was released.