Release Date: May 09th 2025. Record Label: Dune Altar. Formats: DD/Vinyl
Bleak Machinery - Tracklisting
1.Blood Moon Rises (Intro) 01:02
2.Blood Moon 04:02
3.Nowhere to Turn 03:39
4.Shivers Down the Spine 03:43
5.The Truth Is Out There 00:48
6.Night Captivity 03:36
7.Dead Weight 03:43
8.Gates of He// 00:32
9.Darkfields 02:43
10.Ominous Dreams 00:40
11.Death Embers 03:18 video
12.Cemetery Nights 04:40
Members
Wes Lopez - Guitars/Synth
Kris Balocca - Vocals
Oscar Ruvalcaba - Drums
Victor Guitierrez - Bass
Review
Bleak Machinery is the debut album from Industrial/Punk/Noise Rock/Metal Sonic Terrorists IN COVERT where they cover almost every corner of the Punk, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal spectrum. There’s moments of Death Rock, Doom Metal, Sludge Rock, Post-Punk, Ambient and A;t Metal all appearing at dark and despairing times of the record. All I can say this is a band with a unique vision and highly original sound of their own.
The record shows glimpses of the past, present and future of HEAVY METAL with it’s classic Post-Punk and Gothic themes allowing the modern sounding Electronica and Synth Driven themes creating a nightmarish landscape that could easily be classed as a critique on modern day world current events. The music itself is inspired by the likes of The Cure, Killing Joke, NIN, Ministry, Neurosis, Celtic Frost and even Motorhead.
Bleach Machinery excels the most when In Covert dive right into the harsh Industrial and Sonic landscapes with a Post-Doom and Post-Black Metal sound transforms into a Synth driven Sludge Metal juggernaut which you’ll encounter within the brilliant standout tracks of Blood Moon and Nowhere To Turn. The vocals are from the classic era of Post-Punk and Post-Goth which allows the record to have a 1980’s Alt Rock/Metal dynamic which is where the lyrics thrive the most.
There’s a hallucinogenic and apocalyptic imagery appearing from the dystopian science fiction narrative that IN COVERT have injected to every fibre and being of the album. Distorted loops, psychedelic noises and electronic glitches allows IN COVERT to project a loud wall of NOISE and constant waves of DARK PARANOIA which NIN and MINISTRY were masters at back in the day. The record does feel like a distant relation to the landmark GODFLESH record Streetcleaner but with IN COVERT being perhaps more Doom Metal/Post-Punk based though the similarities are there.
IN COVERT do offer moments of sublime instrumental passages where riffs and proggy grooves begin to form but all kept under the vortex of that dark brooding Industrial and Post-Punk beats. I even loved the song Night Captivity as it offers a brief moment of uplifting Psych Rock sounds which is perhaps described as the best song “THE CURE never released”. The sound of Night Captivity is soon given a bleak APOCALPYTIC makeover with lush sounding vocals and twisted Doom-Pop melodies.
The later parts of the record sees IN COVERT experiment further with despairing feedback loops, industrial sounds and heavy monolithic instrumental passages that throw the odd curveball here and there with tracks such as Dead Weight, Darkfields, Death Embers and Cemetery Nights allowing IN COVERT to end things on a bleak and brilliant creative high.
Bleak Machinery is a one of a kind record you don’t come across or experience that much. With intense production values, IN COVERT have the potential to make a name for themselves in the wider Heavy Metal scene.
Words by Steve Howe
Bleak Machinery is available to buy now on DD/Vinyl via Dune Altar.
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