A band/project where the singing duties have been taken on by the one and only Zak Stevens is always good news to me. MACHINES OF GRACE, the brand new creation of four known and talented musicians is here to present its own perspective on heavy and melodic music. Let's see who these guys are.

The singer and frontman of this band is - as I said above - the one and only Zak Stevens who has left his mark with SAVATAGE, CIRCLE II CIRCLE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and more. Jeff Plate is one more SAVATAGE member who has also participated in TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, as well as in the US Metal legends METAL CHURCH. This band/project's line up is completed with two TRIGGER EFFECT members, Matt Leff and Chris Rapoza.

What are these guys doing all together? They are doing the one thing they share their love for, playing Heavy Metal of course! MACHINES OF GRACE is a solid melodic Hard Rock/Heavy Metal outfit with tight compositions, catchy choruses and nice guitar work that is exactly what this sound needs. Their sound, as said before, balances between the heaviness of Heavy Metal and the melody and emotions of melodic Hard Rock, while some really slight Prog elements are added. If you search for some SAVATAGE and CIRCLE II CIRCLE influences in here, I guess you will find them.

One more thing is the great work that has been done not only in the structure of every song, but in the structure of the album as well. The songs have been put in a pretty right order something that makes the album flow pretty well. What also helps in this is the diversity of the songs contained in "Machines Of Grace". You will find from Heavy Metal songs, to more melodic groovy rocking parts, as well as emotional ballads.

That's what I most liked in here. Even though the album's duration is approximately 56 minutes there is no way "Machines Of Grace" will let you drive your attention away from it. It is a solid heavy rocking release with elements that will please both rockers and metalheads. My opinion? Invest...