From Bandcamp, “From the darkest depths of the oceans of time and space comes a legend over two billion years old, which has spawned a multitude of harrowing galactic sagas. These stories arrive to us in the form of the debut album from OLD MACHINES titled “The Cycles of Extinction,” featuring eight songs regarding mysterious, malevolent horrors, which create the very extinction cycles all organic life forms are forever trapped in. These are tales of horror, war, and genocide, spanning eight tracks for one hour of music which can be described as Extreme Cosmic Metal.

The album has eight songs, and “Twilight of the Old Gods, and the Dawning of the First Cycle” is first. It eases in slowly, with a lot of atmosphere, but not a lot of sonority. It finally breaks open around the four minute mark. Keyboards combine with firm guitar riffs and some melody. The sound is ominous. The vocals that follow are harrowing, and the sound is backed with a lot of orchestral elements. “Cycles of Extinction” features old school keyboard sounds, like organ notes. Ominous spoken words combine with an aggressive, contentious riff and more backing symphony, and the drum worm is fantastic. “Extinguishing the Light of the Preludian Empire” is as epic as the title sounds. It’s rousing, energetic, and like a new battery, it never dies. The bass guitar work is excellent as well.

“Dark Space and Beyond: The Continuance of the Evolution of the Final Cycle” is an eight minute offering, which gives the band plenty of room to experiment. First comes melody, and it hangs in the background, glittering as the stars in the night sky. “Crescendo of Carnage: Warsong of the Singing Swarm” features keyboards over a bed of heavy riffing and spoken words that lead to harsh vocals. Again, the sound is very ominous…very foreboding, and the rolling bass notes carry the sound forward in perfect unison with the other instruments. “The Sundering of the Irradiated Sons, and the Rebellion Sparked by the Gene-Plague” is a mouthful, and so is the song. It’s jam packed with sound, and much of it has a “get out now” type of quality to it, almost like a nightmare.

“Glory to the Terrans of the First Contact War” closes the album, and it’s another keyboard heavy song with backing orchestra. Of all of the elements on the album, that epic and ominous feeling come through strongest. This is a very talented band, and they turn over every stone, rock, and boulder on the album. Extreme Cosmic Metal? For sure…I would also add “Epic” in front of that, due to the nature of the songs and the band’s ability to create these soundscapes. Even for as complicated as the album is, it is quite easy for the listener to assimilate.