Angry Machines
| 1. Institutional Man. 2. Don't Tell The Kids. 3. Black. 4. Hunter Of The Heart. 5. Stay Out Of My Mind. 6. Big Sister. 7. Double Monday. 8. Golden Rules. 9. Dying In America. 10. This Is Your Life. |
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| Recent Releases from Dio: Dio - Strange Highways (1994) Dio - Angry Machines (1996) Dio - Inferno (1998) |
Related Albums in (members) Dokken - Erase the Slate (1999) [Pilson] Dio - Holy Dio (1999) [Tribute album] |
| This was Dio's second album with ex-World War III guitarist Tracy G. Their first album together 'Strange Highways' was in my opinion a very strong effort which represented a newer style for Dio. This album is meant to be an extension of the style of 'Strange Highways' with an even heavier 90's attitude thrown in. Did it live up to expectations?? Well sadly the answer is No; and that is a quite definite No!! Unfortunately 'Angry Machines' sees Dio going industrial on us and as a result makes you wonder if this album is really him or an attempt to stop dwindling album sales by cashing in on the current metal trend. The production doesn't really help with uneven levels and a very dry mix which is particularly noticeable on the vocals. |
| Opener 'Institutional Man'
is a plodding detuned metal song; the opening intro is quite Sabbathy, but
then it dawdles along with a plodding rhythm that frankly says nothing. Ronnie lyrics are
very down beat for him and frankly his voice while still as strong as ever doesn't seem to
have the conviction it has always had before, and as a result makes him sound a little
lost. The pre-chorus has a particularly nasty vocal part that when Ronnie sings solo 'New
parts for my brain' which just sounds plain naff and frankly a little sad. Vinny Appice's
drums at times seem to hold no interest in putting down a solid bed for the bass and
rhythm guitar to do their stuff, this also leads to a messy end result.. Next up is 'Don't Tell The Kids' and it is actually very good and probably the best track on the album. A powerful opener of drum fills and crunching power chords leads into a furious riff which is the bed for the verse. Ronnie sounds like his old self belting out the lyrics about covering up the damage we are doing to the planet in general, his voice is sounding very vicious and quite threatening here. The chorus is great [if slightly repetitive] and puts across the message of the song effectively. The solo while not in the class of Vivian Campbell or Rowan Robertson is quite respectable for Tracy G [not the most gifted soloist around] and suits the song well. A good Dio song which is a bit more traditional sounding than the rest of the album. 'Black' follows and its back to the lurching rhythm and un-inspired lyrics. The melody line doesn't really sit with the track or the other melody lines in the song. The band is trying to do its best 'Rage Against The Machine' meets 'Machine Head' impression and again falls well short [not that I am particularly a fan of either] and again fails to impress. 'Hunter Of The Heart', ah a classic sounding Dio song title I hear you cry? Well its not too bad, but nowhere near the class of 'Gypsy' or 'Holy Diver'. Ronnie sounds impressive again and the updated sound works pretty well here, the vocal melody lines work with the band [not against] and overall its another solid track. 'Stay Out Of My Mind' sees another Sabbath esque opener, before merging into what is a bit of a trend at the moment - a guitar motif using a rotating speaker effect ala 'Black Hole Sun' which isn't very original and gives the track a pretty generally unscary quality - which is I suspect is the reverse effect of what they were looking for. The lyrics also don't seem to go anywhere and say anything, with only 2 verses and multiple choruses, and the track length being over 7 minutes it perhaps shows how uninspiring the song was to Ronnie. A quite lengthy mid section of quite terrible orchestral sounds and weird noises [industrial-esque] does not equate to songwriting in my book and doesn't help things at all, in fact they only seems to reflect the general lack of imagination and enthusiasm shown in the track, quite nasty. 'Big Sister'- oh no another plodding track, Ronnie sounds as if he is making up the track as he goes along, he would probably call it experimentation while I would call it a waste of time. The chorus again is of the go nowhere say nothing variety, its a shame as Tracy G's riff for the chorus is quite good, the track sees more use of orchestration in a backing effect with better results than the previous track. Another solid solo from Tracy G helps restore some credibility. 'Double Monday' has an impressive opening before staying on track with the verse. The whole band is tight and sounds very aggressive, The bridge is a bit of let down but still a big improvement on the past few tracks. A nice acoustic interlude sees some melody [at last] from Ronnie and it does a nice job of breaking up the track. This is a very good track and only goes to highlight the lack of imagination in other tracks. 'Golden Rules' is a cross between the likes of 'Don't Tell The Kids' mixed with the letdown quality of 'Big Sister', the changes in the track while good individually don't blend well, and it almost seems like the band are playing a game of seeing who many riffs they can fit in a song with no regard for structure. Ronnie's lyrics are pretty forgettable which sums up a lot of this album. A song that has promise but doesn't live up to it or extend it. 'Dying In America' sees another powerful groove with Ronnie throwing in the strange phrasings and melodies, however this time it seems to work, while not a full-on delivery Ronnie's voices still sounds good. The plodding rhythms plod but in a pretty good way, the only problem is when the band reaches the instrumental break. Here the ideas sound very similar and seem like slight variations of what has been on other tracks. The sound of the band with Ronnie's voice combine to give an apocalyptic feel to the track which is probably going by the title what the band was aiming for, so something of a success. The closing track 'This Is Your Life' is a reflective piano and vocal only ballad that is radically new for Dio. Here Ronnie sounds great showing the full range of his voice and the track is similar to material Queen and in particular Freddie Mercury wrote a few years back. The lyrics are also the most traditionally Dio like on the album and all in all is a sweet closer. |
| Well generally this album is a BIG disappointment, while tracks
like 'Don't Tell The Kids', 'Hunter Of The Heart' and 'Double Monday' are strong tracks in
their right, its when you put them up against Dio classics like 'Don't Talk To Strangers',
'Last In Line', 'Between Two Hearts' and even 'Strange Highways' they come up short.
Generally this album is messy with little or no regard for songs. I hate to slam Dio like
this as I think he has released some great albums over the years and probably the best
vocalist ever, but their is no getting around the fact that this album is the worst he has
ever been involved with in his long career. It would now seem that Ronnie feels the same
as his soon to be released concept album 'Magica' will see a return to more traditional
Dio qualities and I for one can't wait to hear it. 'Angry Machines' is an experiment which
generally went horribly wrong. Ratings: |
