lsm- pic by-tinakorhonen
Caked in the filth of life and the passion of instinctive rebellion, Rock ‘n’ Roll Martyrs the new album from UK antagonists Lucifer Star Machine is quite simply unbridled, uncompromising punk n roll. From first violent note and lashing syllable through to its last vicious squall on the ear, the twelve track assault is nothing less than dirty hunger driven confrontation, but a fusion of punk and heavy to hard rock which leaves satisfaction greedy and thrills a plenty. With their third album the band is presenting the sound and merciless energy they are renowned for but have taken it up many levels of contagion and impacting persuasion to unleash their most potent and enjoyable moment yet.
Hailing from London, Lucifer Star Machine has left a legacy of destructive pleasure in their wake from live performances and releases. From intimate sweat drenched halls to festival stages across over ten countries the quintet has challenged and ignited audiences alongside the major names of punk rock whilst from debut album Fire In Your Hole in 2005 and its successor Street Value Zero four years later the band has marked out a portion of genre territory for their furious sounds. Released via I Sold My Soul Media and recorded with producer Andy Brook, Rock’n’Roll Martyrs stirs up the air, senses, and appetite with a blaze of corruptive addictive sounds which plays like the anarchist offspring from a union between Generation X, Turbonegro, and old school Misfits. It is arguably the most accessible album the band has unveiled and certainly the most unforgettable and incendiary.
The riot begins with Hold Me Down, a fire which offloads a crucial groove spiked with intensive hooks from its opening breath. Often leading and never far from the surface of the song, the lure is as insatiable as it is addictive and twists lustfully around the ear as riffs and rhythms flail the atmosphere and tight sonic melody soaked invitations spark into an anthemic chorus and group calls which further capture the imagination. It is a magnetic tempest of a start which breeds real hunger for what is to follow, especially with the charge and inventive flames sculpted by guitarists Dave Malice and Laughing Boy Fernandes.
The following Sulphur & Speed starts with a healthy glam rock teasing which would not be out of place in the seventies but soon chews it
up and transforms it with a Misfits/Danzig like intimidation. The vocals of band founder Tor Abyss snarl with contempt and force whilst his clean delivery only adds to a great alluring presence. The merger of all that melodic swagger and feisty intensive rhythmic, riff, and vocal abrasion leaves a potent persuasion which has feet and throat in unison more often than not.
Through the old school bred Hammer Me Dead with a more caustic hardcore delivery from Abyss raging over the excellent cantankerous rhythmic testing of new drummer Txutxo Krueger (formerly of Last Resort and Total Chaos), and the irrepressible fist pumping anthem Death Or Jail, the album continues to ignite the passions and an instinctive fight within thoughts whilst the initially Clash like For Reasons Unknown, where the bass of Crusty Chlamydia coaxes in the imagination with ease, explodes another level of satisfaction and temptation upon Rock’n’Roll Martyrs. Evolving into a virulently catchy and dramatic treat, the song has elements of The Damned and New York Dolls to its stomp adding further adventure and variety to the album and pleasure.
Both Poison Arrows and Dead And Gone leave a pleasing taste on the palate, if without managing to reach the heights of the previous tracks. The first has a more restrained and poised gait though it does not lose any energy and impact in relation to its predecessors whilst its successor is a undefined smog of garage rock with a scuzz lining that intrigues and satisfies yet like the song before lies pale against the stronger elements of the release. Dark Water also lacks the spark which made the first half of the album so magnificently imposing and commanding but nevertheless has attention and appetite eager to consume and join its mission to provide honest ear barracking rock ‘n’ roll.
The malevolent Cancer Daddy pushes things back towards the thrilling peaks of the album, the song another breath stealing storm of anthemic bait and enterprise making way for the sinister charms of The Curse. It is a more than decent encounter which makes a good appetiser for the tempestuous excellence of Rotten To The Core, a furnace of middle finger attitude and punk confrontation which in its one minute twenty lays waste to the senses and emotions showing the emerging young punk bands how it is done. Explosive and bloody-minded, the track is another pinnacle to the album.
The closing I Hate You Forever leaves one final punk infested fight upon the ear, the Sex Pistols tinted riffs and hooks wrapped in a hard rock assault with rapacious sinews. It is a strong end but does not steal memories from the song before and earlier triumphs ultimately. Lucifer Star Machine offers punk ‘n’ roll at its dirtiest accomplished and weighty best, and Rock’n’Roll Martyrs their pugnacious call to arms.
http://www.luciferstarmachine.com/
8.5/10
RingMaster 27/09/2013
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
Listen to the best independent music and artists on The RingMaster Review Radio Show and The Bone Orchard from
The RingMaster Review 
Leave a Reply