Review by Alex on May 12, 2018.

Immortal Sÿnn is listed as a heavy metal band. However, there are elements of power metal and punk metal in their music vocally, in the lyrics and in the choruses. Their sound overall can be termed as heavy traditional power/punk metal. There are even some instances of stoner metal on the album. Machine Men was released in 2017 but I have heard nothing about it during that time. It's non stop guitar worship from the first to the very last. Immortal Sÿnn leaves no tables unturned when it comes to addressing mental enslavement, human identity and social disarray on their debut full length, Machine Men.

The first song off Machine Men being "Liberty Rising" is a banger of a tune. It has a great mid-paced flow, awesome singing in the chorus segments and a furious guitar solo. It is followed by "Metal and Blood" which you can probably guess is a song worshiping heavy metal, like most traditional heavy metal bands do on their albums as they pay homage to the father genre. "Metal and Blood" has a quicker pace than the song preceding it, and like "Liberty Rising" it has a strong vengeful guitar solo. The kind of solo you can stand on a hill and point your sword towards the sky as you decree war. "Dark Abyss" has more of a punk-metal sound that is mixed with a King Diamond style of delivery pattern on the main chorus.

The soloing on Machine Men is commanding like a headmaster or high school principal walking the halls, on a mission to capture any wandering minds. The self-titled track meets the peak of regime dismantling solos and riffs. Holy moly, Miguel Ruiz and Tony Z have a lot of praise to be bestowed upon them for their salivating display of shredding; they play like machines (ironic isn't it?), I feel like the rest of the band was struggling to keep up with Miguel's and Tony's level of diversity and dexterity. Their soloing throughout Machine Men and more notably, the self-titled track, is nothing short of timeless. Miguel and Tony slay. "Blind Soul" is perhaps my favorite track on the record, it has the best flow, melody, and chorus. "Blind Soul" deals with introspect and soul-searching, it is catchy all the way through and has a very "alternative rock/metal" structure. It takes a break from the heaviness in establishing more emphasis on the melodic area of the music.

How hasn't Immortal Sÿnn's Machine Men generated more attention? Traditional heavy metal with relative issues that don't go crazy with the "political correctness" or "incorrectness" is something worth listening too and having your thoughts absorbed in. The production is clean and the music is well mixed. The artwork is perfect for the themes being explored and the ideologies expressed on the album. For its total play time of 61 minutes, remarkably it never gets boring. The vocalist Chase McClellan does a praiseworthy job of using various vocal styles such as clean singing, speed metal like vocals and even modern hard rock/nu-metal (see "Hatred Nation" for reference). The guitarists slay, while the drums follow the reckoning path. You need Machine Men if you like metal, mechanized guitar solos, awesome vocal diversity and relative social themes.

Rating: 8.8 out of 10

Review by Felix on February 7, 2021.

Death Magic Doom; this three word title is borrowed from Dimmu Borgir, isn't it? The cover artwork is reduced to its essentials and can therefore also not be deemed as a triumph of creativity, although the simple symbolism never fails to have an effect on the beholder. Anyway, the Swedish legend does not need any kind of visual antics. The heavyweight sound of mastermind Leif Edling and his sidekicks speaks for itself. First of all, it goes without saying that I do not need to blather about the musicianship of the five band members. Everything is well implemented, every cog intermeshes perfectly with the next one. In particular the sublime performance of lead vocalist Robert Low is simply impressive. Generally speaking, doom is not my passion, but Candlemass have the ability to fascinate me again and again. Despite its blatantly typical title, Death Magic Doom marks no exception.

The album shows new variations of the usual trademarks of Candlemass. A dense and majestic sound is the prerequisite. Its flawlessness lays the groundwork for the dark anthems of the band without killing the dynamic of the songs. Despite the density of the production, the band is always able to intensify the atmosphere of the tracks in a matter of seconds. The instrumental part of 'House of 1000 Voices' is a good example in this context. Experience how this song progresses between 3:41 and 4:58. To avoid misunderstandings, the entire track is worth listening to. Yet this is nothing special. Each and every song reveals its mightiness, albeit in different ways and to different degrees. 'Hammer of Doom' is the prototype of a profound and poignant doom song, the mid-paced 'The Bleeding Baroness' combines heavy verses with a melancholic chorus and the opener 'If I Ever Die' marks the "high speed" track of the album. At this point, I must criticise the band for the arrangement of the running order. Positively expressed, 'If I Ever Die' stands in the tradition of more or less rapid openers like 'Black Dwarf' and 'Emperor of the Void'. But, frankly, this beginning is predictable and the entire album lacks a bit of surprising elements. After all, the fairly weird 'Demon of the Deep' presents an unexpected final part.

In my personal ranking, Death Magic Doom stands in the shadow of its two predecessors. But Candlemass and King of the Grey Island were true masterpieces and one cannot expect that this quality can be repeated endlessly. The more important thing is that the album is free from lukewarm fillers. Even less impressive numbers like 'Dead Angel' with its pretty harmless, almost cheesy chorus and its vapid ending have their moments. In the case of this song, the drilling guitars during the verses keep the piece above water. However, the last regular track, 'My Funeral Dreams', leaves no doubt that Candlemass are not willing to make space for another group at the top of the doom scene. Its dramatic and genuine configuration gives no reason to moan and the strong bonus track closes the loop in view of its relatively fast tempo. A good record, but definitely not the most shining pearl in the discography of the Swedes. Even the fact that the limited edition comes with a bonus DVD does not change this situation.

Rating: 7.9 out of 10