When I see ‘For Fans of Bal-Sagoth!’ in a promotional email, I’m usually pretty skeptical. Only a few bands have been able to honor/copy that unique sound: Hungary’s Runeshard, the Alestorm spinoff, Wizardthrone, and, of course, the UK’s Kull, but they have actual former Bal Sagoth members, so I’m not sure they count.

However, the promotional email for the debut from Portland’s Old Machines dropped that tagline, so I, of course, checked it out, setting low expectations. Can a band from Portland, Oregon, with members from bands like Skeletal Remains, Infernal Realm, Ænigmatum, Oxygen Destroyer, Dominus Nox, Mamorlis, and Thirsting Altar really capture the essence of one of the UK’s greatest metal exports?

Well, as I delved into the songs and saw titles like “Extinguishing the Light of the Preludian Empire (Upon the Apex of Their Glory)” and “The Sundering of the Irradiated Sons, and the Rebellion Sparked by the Gene-Plague”, my hopes got raised, even with the Sci Fi heavy themes rather than The Hyperborian World, Cthulu or muscled up barbarians (Though Bal Sagoth certainly went sci fi for The Power Cosmic.

Then we got a lengthy instrumental/atmospheric intro to the 11-minute opener “Twilight of the Old Gods, and the Dawning of the First Cycle”, and then the final nail on the coffin that got me was in “Extinguishing the Light of the Preludian Empire (Upon the Apex of Their Glory)” on board was when vocalist ‘Greavis’ delivers a spot on over the top, Lord Byron spoken word and keyboardist ‘Old Machine Stares’, delivers some classic Jonny Maulding keyboards.

And that’s all before we get to tracks like “Crescendo of Carnage: Warsong of the Singing Swarm (Swarm Wars I)”, where the elements above, and even the riffs, which could have been lifted from the band’s latter half of their hexology, are even more Bal Sagoth-y, but again with more of a Sci Fi lean.

And at this point, I’m in hog heaven, as the promotional email was indeed correct. This is damn good Bal-Sagoth worship, as well as your other standard 90s symphonic black metal influences (Abigor, Emperor, etc), and even some traditional heavy metal, but the riffs, epic keys, vocals, leads, and even tinny guitar production clearly point to one major influence more than the others.

I mean listen to “The Sundering of the Irradiated Sons, and the Rebellion Sparked by the Gene-Plague” and “They Are Legion: The Tragic Exodus of the Veiled Creators” and closer “Glory to the Terrans of the First Contact War” (I mean, go to the 2:52 or 4:36 minute mark, c’mon!). It’s easily up there with the bands mentioned in the opening paragraph, but doing just a little enough to put their own sci-fi take on things.

‘By the Ice Encrusted Star Blades of the Shimmering Legions of Hatheg Kla, the Blood Gods are Sated Once More!!!!’

[Visit the band's website]

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