DEATH MACHINE

track-list:
Opium Wound
Beat the Drum
Vending Machine
First Blood
The Offer
Found a House
Modern Man
Dawning Eyes
Free Soloing
The Sun
Fences
Black Holes
Morning Light
Molten Eyes
Old Curcuits
Lifetime
Orbiting
The Disco Song
Years

Death Machine are:
Jesper Mogensen – vocals, guitars
Sven Busck Andersen – drums
Morten Vinther Ørberg – bass
Simon Christensen – keys

discography:

Over the past few years, Danish band Death Machine has been working on writing and recording songs for their double album ‘Dawning Eyes‘.
The result is 20 elaborate and varied songs that will be released on April 25, 2025 on Celebration Records.
Death Machine have since their debut gained a massive fanbase with their eclectic mix of alternative folk with elements of pop, indie and noise rock.
Their new album ‘Dawning Eyes‘ takes the listener through a musical landscape that winds around different genre expressions and moves through time with strong references to various musical periods.
The listener will be able to explore everything from a 70s vibe to a more 80s-inspired sound, all the way up to the present day.
The album features both a massive, grand cinematic sound, while also leaving room for the intimate and personal, as if the band were playing in the living room with the listener.
The focal point is a constant interplay between contrasting elements that create synergy and intensity.
A hard-hitting band name with contrasting songs.
It should be unpredictable and universally appealing at the same time.
All the songs on ‘Dawning Eyes‘ reflect the fact that they were written with the intention of pursuing the original genre and musical expression, from the initial idea to the finished song, no matter how different or unconventional they may have been compared to the back catalog.
The upcoming album ‘Dawning Eyes‘ offers a musical landscape where genres and time periods intertwine.
With each member’s unique musical background, the four band members have explored the songs and their essence without locking themselves into predefined genres or expressions.
The band tells:
“We all come from different musical backgrounds, each with our own musical baggage, which has influenced the songs’ various expressions. We have wanted to write these songs regardless of how genre-defying they might be, and therefore we did not want to box ourselves in. Moreover, the writing process was not subject to a strict time constraint, as the first album was. Instead, we gave the songs time to develop, allowing them to reach the right expression.”
Earlier on Death Machine have released single ‘Modern Man‘ and double-single ‘Beat the Drum and Vending Machine‘.
‘Modern Man‘ was the first sign of life after 4 years of silence from Death Machine.
This song feels, from the very first swaying tones, both nostalgic and yet ‘fresh‘.
‘Modern Man‘ draws on a nostalgic 80s atmosphere, percussive primeval power, hypnotic grooves, growing synth surfaces and a warm, organic sound.
It immediately transports you back to the moods of the 80s.
However, the sound is warmer and more organic, and the percussive elements evoke hints of tribal music.
A hypnotic groove and ‘sprouting‘ synth pads create the sense that, throughout the song, you’re moving toward ‘something‘ and eager to see where it leads.
The lyrics reflect the narrator’s sense of alienation and isolation in relation to modern life.
The narrative takes us into the alienated, isolated existence of a ‘modern man‘ who find himself in a bittersweet realization that surrendering to the world of today means renouncing one’s own values.
Through fragmented descriptions, you slowly get the impression that the narrator reluctantly has surrendered to the norms and structures of modern life.
There’s a budding acceptance of the necessity of playing ‘the game‘.
The overall message can be summed up as a break from previous loneliness and alienation, though the price may be a renunciation of personal values.
“Our time sometimes feels like a time when you make an incredible amount of compromises as a human being in order to fit into society’s norms and the structures that surround us. ‘Modern Man’ is an expression of the feeling you can sometimes have that in some areas we may be distancing ourselves a little from what is fundamentally general human behaviour”,
explains Jesper, who is the band’s frontman and songwriter.
‘Beat the Drum‘ and ‘Vending Machine‘ two singles, each with its own character, venture into the band’s landscape of alternative folk, noise rock, necessity, and nostalgia.
‘Beat the Drum‘ and ‘Vending Machine‘ come with two very different expressions, but with a connection to ‘Modern Man‘ and the alienation that resides in a modern person trying to feel themselves in a hectic world.
‘Beat the Drum‘ is, as the title reveals, driven by a strong beat.
The song is about reaching a point where you have nothing left to lose.
“There can be a liberating and initiating energy in that situation, but the outcome is rarely beneficial. This energy is also reflected in the music’s slightly dystopian momentum,”
explains the band’s frontman, Jesper.
‘Now you will hear me
Like this barrel, I am empty
I’ll take the blame
I have earned myself a name and a bite of the fame
Beat the drum,
Make it loud.‘
‘Vending Machine‘ slows the tempo down and follows us into a snapshot of the hamster wheel.
‘We got fooled.
For a day or two, we tried
To break the loop
But we got lost in the rules.‘
The song gets its title from the small, almost tragicomic self-help encouragement to keep going for yet another day:
‘Vending machine at the other side of the street
Just got enough for a little treat
For me.’
On the singles, you can sense how the band manages to create synergy and intensity in their shared universe with a grand, cinematic sound that never overshadows an intimate, present atmosphere.