Machine - What Are You Looking At? (2000)

No, nobody lopped off part of the booklet in a fit of rage.  Not only does this come in a red jewel case, but for whatever perplexing reason, this was put out with one of those stupid undersized booklets that looks like it's missing an inch-wide strip from the right side.  The only similar CD I can think of off the top of my head is Jane Jensen's Comic Book Whore--yes, I know this purely from digging through clearance CDs for so long--where it serves as an element crucial to the layout.  There's no such excuse here.

What's most interesting about Machine is that they were the only new signee to the resurrected New Renaissance Records, and as far as I know the only new (at the time) recording the label put out other than some Hellion stuff and the bonus tracks on the Medieval reissue.

Overall, the band fit into the modern thrash category well enough, but the vocal style and the punkish tempo of the majority of the songs make much of the album crossover.  Speed is definitely an asset--unfortunately when they slow things down (see the beginning of "Saw is Family"), they just become generic, groovy "jump" thrash.  There's also a cover of Joan Osbourne's "One of Us."  Shortly into it the band just adapt it to their regular crossover style, but that kills a lot of the novelty and humor I presume the band were going for by covering it.  It becomes unrecognizable save for the lyrics of the chorus.

They also succumb to a fatal flaw often found in grindcore and gore metal--including samples and intros that are more interesting than the music itself!  "I Wish My Chick was Dead" (cool title!) has audio of a distraught chick leaving an answering machine message...And indeed, after hearing it, I find myself wishing she was dead too.  "Necronomicon" is indexed as a 26+ minute track, the majority of which is audio from a porno.  Sorry, but there are few bands out there that can compete with a sultry plea of "Stovepipe me, mister!"
This isn't all that bad, and I can't complain because I got it cheaply, but let's face it--had there not been some hair band signings like Tuff Luck and Pretty Vacant, this would be my least favorite New Renaissance release.

I should also note that the band changed their name to 8mm Overdose and this may have been re-released as the Harder Than Hardcore album.  Except for the Joan Osbourne cover (there's another track in its place) and (I think) the hidden stuff/porn audio after "Necronomicon," the tracklist is the same and they reuse the cover photo, leading me to believe it's probably the same recording.