It’s not often that you get to review a one-man band. Well, I have the privilege of doing so with MAN MACHINE INDUSTRY. To me this is a brand-new musical experience, as I had not heard that name before. Shows what I know, because this band from Stockholm Sweden (they usually have four members, as you see when you look at the line-up) has been around since 2000. They already released six full length studio albums, and “Eschaton II - Judgment Day” is their fourth EP to date.

Now to the music. On “Eschaton II - Judgment Day” MAN MACHINE INDUSTRY plays Heavy Metal with Thrash and Industrial Metal parts woven in when appropriate. And even though the CD version I am listening to has seven songs, it only clocks some 20 minutes. That gives you an inkling on how short the tunes are. This only means that I have to keep my concentration up whilst listening. And as usual I am playing the EP whilst typing my review.

What I do feel is that “Eschaton II - Judgment Day” starts off quite promising. After the intro “March Of Judgment” you get the first jewel in the crown. “Where Angels Die” is quite furious, and has me at the edge of my seat in seconds. That feeling of elation keeps up with “R.I.P.”. The music as well as the delivery of these songs have me jumping for joy. Unfortunately after these songs it goes down a notch. The songs don’t fly off that the handle anymore, but tread along nicely. “Sniper” still has an element of excitement, as does “Powertrip”, but the main excitement of the start of the EP has gone. That does return with “A World Set On Fire”, as it has a definite PRONG vibe. That just leaves the outro, which is short but sweet.

All together I feel that “Eschaton II - Judgment Day” does give me the right and option to find out what with MAN MACHINE INDUSTRY have done before. They show a lot of promise, quality and dedication on these songs. Reason for me to delve into their past. My rating now is probably lower than they deserve, but still above average, as I feel I haven’t gotten to the core of what with MAN MACHINE INDUSTRY is capable of on “Eschaton II - Judgment Day”. And I would rather tell people that I underestimated them than overestimated. I do hope you understand.