"Machina/The Machines Of God" is the fifth album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. A concept album, it marked the return of drummer Jimmy Chamberlin and was intended to be the band's final official LP release prior to their first breakup in 2000. A sequel album—Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music—was later released independently via the Internet. As with its immediate predecessor Adore, Machina represented a drastic image and sound change for the band that failed to reconnect The Smashing Pumpkins with chart-topping success. However, after the relatively brief Adore tour, the new lineup featuring Chamberlin and former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur mounted longer international tours that returned the live incarnation of the band to guitar-driven hard rock territory. Any record called MACHINA/The Machines of God couldn't be a pure rock album. The title suggests this is a concept album, which are at least a little progressive. As it happens, MACHINA is a lot progressive. Though it's damn near impossible to figure out the story line, the album plays like a concept album, with each track floating into the next, winding up with an album artier than Adore. That's not a liability, since the Smashing Pumpkins were always arty, yet Billy Corgan was very clever in camouflaging his artiness. "The Everlasting Gaze" rocks more overtly than anything on Adore, and the storybook-styled artwork deliberately evokes memories of Mellon Collie. Enthusiasts will find moments to admire throughout MACHINA, but ultimately, they might be disappointed with a record that crosses Mellon Collie with Adore without relying on the strengths of either. MACHINA appears to be ornately straightforward, yet as it progresses, it becomes increasingly insular. By the time it gets to "Heavy Metal Machine," designed as the record's crushing centerpiece, its weaknesses become apparent. "Heavy Metal Machine" should be a brutal, bruising experience, yet it's toothless, processed within an inch of its life. It becomes clear that the chief strength of the album is production. Not once does MACHINA ever feel like the work of a band; it feels as if it was painstakingly assembled by Corgan and Flood. The Smashing Pumpkins have always been Corgan's band, but they've never sounded like a solo vehicle the way that they do here.
Track List:
01. The Everlasting Gaze (corgan) – 4:00
02. Raindrops + Sunshowers (corgan) – 4:39
03. Stand Inside Your Love (corgan) – 4:14
04. I of the Mourning (corgan) – 4:37
05. The Sacred and Profane (corgan) – 4:22
06. Try, Try, Try (corgan) – 5:09
07. Heavy Metal Machine (corgan) – 5:52
08. This Time (corgan) – 4:43
09. The Imploding Voice (corgan) – 4:24
10. Glass and the Ghost Children (corgan) – 9:56
11. Wound (corgan) - 3:58
12. The Crying Tree of Mercury (corgan) – 3:43
13. With Every Light (corgan) – 3:56
14. Blue Skies Bring Tears (corgan) – 5:45
15. Age of Innocence (corgan) – 3:55
16. Speed Kills (corgan) (Bonus Track) - 4:38
Released: February 29, 2000 (2000-02-29)
Recorded: November 1998–October 1999 at Sadlands, Pumpkinland, Chicago Recording Company, Chicago, Illinois
Genre: Alternative rock
Length: 1:17:37
Label: Virgin Records
Produced-by: Billy Corgan and Flood
Mixing: Alan Moulder
Personnel:
Jimmy Chamberlin – drums
Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, production, art direction, mixing
James Iha – guitar
D'Arcy Wretzky – bass guitar
Mike Garson – piano on "Glass and the Ghost Children"
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