MELDRUM – Blowin’ Up The Machine

Six years after their debut album, Loaded Mental Cannon, Meldrum is ready with their second release, Blowin’ Up The Machine.

The Swedish/American Rock band is lead by former Phantom Blue guitarist, Michelle Meldrum, followed by Moa Holmsten on vocals and Frida Ståhl on bass. The drumming is taken care of by Gene Hoglan (Strapping Young Lad, Death, Dark Angel, and Wargod) who makes a contribution on “Purge,” “Down Your Throat,” and “Exploited,” and Linda McDonald (Phantom Blue, The Iron Maidens) who is slamming down the drums on the remaining 9 tracks. The album was mixed by Toby Wright (Korn, Fear Factory, and Alice in Chains), giving this record a final touch.

Blowin’ Up The Machine starts off in an aggressive Metal/Rock style with “Purge.” The mean guitar sound, clearly inspired by BLS axeman Zakk Wylde, is evident in songs like “Down Your Throat,”” Exploited,” and “Bite The Pillow.”

“Scar,” a song about facing your demons, love, and forgiveness, radiates with paranoid vibes, but yet there is a touch of harmony sneaking on from behind, making this track quite catchy. Meldrum’s attitude-filled vocals and Heavy Metal riffs in the song “Crème De La Crème,” which is a song about people obsessed with celebrities, leaves no doubt about their opinion of the so-called “star-fuckers.”

How they feel about backstabbers and liars is clearly expressed in the next title “Hang Em’,” and the guitar solo at the end shows once again Michelle’s fabulous skills as a guitarist. This song, just like “Another Kind” and “Get Yours,” is filled with groovy Rock riffs and aggressive, yet melodic, vocals.

Lemmy Kilmister of the legendary band Motörhead lends his voice for the backing vocals in “Miss Me When I’m Gone.” He is also co-writer on the above mentioned song, as well as on the only ballad, “Get Me Outta Here,” which also is one of the best songs on this record.

The fans that have had the chance to see Meldrum live will quickly recognize some of the songs from the new album that have been regularly feature at their gigs for quite some time now.

To conclude, Blowin’ Up The Machine is nicely balanced with elements from both Rock and Metal, letting the “in your face” attitude shine through. It is an easy to like album, but regardless of the girls’ effort on this CD, it still doesn’t quite manage to take one all the way to the top.