Release Date: September 26th 2025. Record Label: Argonauta Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Faces - Tracklisting
1. Just Another Wizard – 07:53
2. Walls of Hate – 06:32
3. Chroma – 05:24
4. Manic – 09:26
5. Price of It All – 04:51
6. The Alp – 06:25
Members
Mark Kitchens: Drums, HC-TT, and Vocals
William "Dub" Irvin: Guitar and Vocals
Erick Pacheco: Bass
Review
Faces is the sixth full length album from Stone Machine Electric who continue their sonic and trippy journey into the harsh environments of the Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal planes. The record sees the band redefine their own creative existence with their music venturing into heavier areas of Drone, Ambient and Shoegaze for perhaps their most confident record in years. Stone Machine Electric sounds closer to the likes of SLEEP, OM, SUNN 0))) and The Melvins than ever before.
The shamanic vocals from the band are ever present but with the added bonus of the recent addition of Erick Pacheco on bass who provides an electrifying bass line that supplements Mark Kitchens’s brooding drums and William “Dub” Irvin’s sludgy guitars. The TANTRIC environment which appears within the first track of Just Another World lives upto its spaced out theme with amplified sounds that feel like they’re being transmitted from another dimension or the vastness of space itself. The sound is quite sparse and diverse with a direct aggressive performance from Stone Machine Electric I haven’t heard since their earliest recordings.
Second track Walls Of Hate is Stone Machine Electric in full on “PISSED OFF” mode with muscular vocals and powerful lyrics aligning everything up closely to the Droned Out dynamics of the Sludge Metal surroundings that merges into a powerful “LOW & SLOW” performance. The music is wonderfully powerful with the band capturing an atmospheric style of Melodic and Destructive grooves that adds layers of distorted heaviness to the mix. There’s a bleak sense of riff-centric delivery that appears that has a twisted “CAVEMAN” metal effect reminiscent of early-era MASTODON and HIGH ON FIRE at times.
Third track Chroma once again sees Stone Machine Electric swing the creative pendulum further into TANTRIC and MIDDLE EASTERN vibes with a classic Grunge element appearing without sacrificing their Sludge Rock identity. The music is playfully slow at first before Stone Machine Electric once more expand their musical horizons into heavier divisions of AMPLIFIER HEAVINESS and FUZZY REVERB with the vocals having a slight “Doom-Pop” aura within them. Stone Machine Electric then harnesses that classic “MELVINS” creative flow with a superbly executed style of trippy music being projected against a ton of darkly twisted and superbly distorted melodies once more.
The fourth track Manic opts for a slightly Prog Metal delivery with a classic sense of Sludge Metal dynamics that is perhaps all the range today but Stone Machine Electric are wise enough to inject elements of Post-Doom, Space Rock and Cosmic flavours into the song. This is perhaps the standout track of the album as it goes into different and multiple styles of HEAVY RAWK with Erick’s powerful bass being one of favourite aspects of the track once more. Though, Mark and William provide excellent and committed performances as well.
The final two tracks of Price Of it All and The Alp sees Stone Machine Electric continuing to deconstruct the classic lore of Sludge/Stoner Metal and inject a fresh HEAVY perspective with some dynamic riffs that translate into first rate drawn out instrumental passages.
Faces is perhaps my favourite record from Stone Machine Electric and proves once again why they’re one of the best bands to emerge from the Texas Heavy Rock Scene within the last two decades. This is STONE MACHINE ELECTRIC in their creative element and it’s a brilliant record to fully experience.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the promo.
Faces is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records.
Links
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