1118. The End Machine / Phase 2. 2021. 3.5/5

Back in the 1980’s, when hair metal was at its peak, US band Dokken had dominated sales and airwaves with albums such as Tooth and Nail, Under Lock and Key and Back for the Attack. While Don Dokken was lead vocalist, they had George Lynch on guitar, Jeff Pilson on bass and Mich Brown on drums, all of whom were also invested in the writing of the material. When the band broke up or went on hiatus or whatever you wish to term their split as being, Lynch and brown went on to form the band Lynch Mob who released two successful albums of their own. For Lynch Mob, they recruited a singer named Oni Logan, who for the second album was replaced by Robert Mason. For all of those years between 1989 and 2018 there were several reunions and disassembling of line ups of both Dokken and Lynch Mob, with varying degrees of success.In 2019, the three band members of Dokken whose surname was not Dokken – ie, Lynch, Pilson and Brown – and three members of Lynch Mob – ie, Lynch and Brown, along with Mason – formed a new band called The End Machine. They released their debut album with the eponymous title in 2019, which received good reviews. When you listen to that album, while the songs are fine and well written, it is only natural to compare them to that bygone era, to subject them to a comparison to the great Dokken and Lynch Mob albums of the past. And as far as that debut album went, it had no semblance of anything from that era. It is a good album but to be fair nothing really stands out as amazing on it.

Here on Phase2, Mick Brown has moved into retirement and has been replaced on drums by his brother Steve, keeping everything nicely in house for The End Machine. And there is an immediately noticeable difference to the songs on Phase2 than there was on the debut album. There is that immediate sound of something Dokkeny going on. But don’t get me wrong, this isn’t Dokken and it isn’t Lynch Mob. Recreating a sound from those albums would be a one way ticket to disaster. It isn’t 1987 anymore, and no one wants to hear another The Final Countdown, for instance, do they? But, whereas the first album felt like it was trying to avoid any comparison to that long bygone age, Phase2 doesn’t appear to be doing that. The melodic hard rock sound that was a hallmark of those two bands is definitely here, not with the 80’s poppy vibe perhaps, but in a more mature form that befits the 30 odd years that these gentlemen have since those days of spandex and hairspray and the like.

As you can hear from the opening, Phase2 has a familiar sound to it without trying to recreate that era. From the very beginning it is great to hear the tight combination of Brown and Pilson in the rhythm section, giving Lynch’s guitar the base to make his magic happen, while the vocals from Mason jump straight in and grab you. This is followed up on “We Walk Alone”, another great track where Mason and Pilson’s vocals strike a great anthemic chord to get the listener involved.
“Dark Divide” is perhaps the best example of the mature sound of the past greatness of the band’s previous incarnations. A free-flowing guitar and bass riff held in check by a perfect rolling beat and wonderful vocal melodies from Mason and Pilson. It has a terrific groove and has all of the hallmarks and talents that this foursome bring to the table. There are plenty of what I call ‘comfort songs’ on this album, and what I mean by that is that the songs themselves aren’t frenetic or super guitar driven or have technical drum or bass patterns throughout. They are songs that sit into a comfortable groove, one where you nod your head along in time rather than thrashing hard or crooning in a balladeer way. “Plastic Heroes”, “Shine Your Light”, “Born of Fire” and especially the closing track “Destiny” do this in a most effective way. There is no high speed tempo in these tracks, but they just oooooze along, lulling you in with Mason’s wonderful vocals and the smooth rhythm that folds around everything.
On the other hand there is the ballad that all bands in this style of genre MUST produce for every album, and in this instance it is “Scars”. This actually comes closest to reminding me of a Dokken song, one of their most famous power ballads “Heaven Sent”. This has a very similar tone to that song. This isn’t a poor song but its very makeup makes me want to reach for the skip button immediately.
Of course, then you have a song like “Crack the Sky”, which showcases the style that George Lynch contributes, upping the tempo and energy in Mason’s vocals, and with Lynch’s guitar tricks punctuating throughout the song.

I came across The End Machine completely by accident, actually learning about it on an interview with Jeff Pilson on a podcast where they spoke of, amongst other things, about the imminent release of this album. So I looked it up and checked it out, as well as its predecessor. And while I enjoyed the first album, this is the one that I actually found I had more in common with. It grabbed my attention in a way the debut album did not, and my belief is that it has more to do with the greater influence of their melodic roots of metal than anything else.

Phase2 probably isn’t modern enough to catch the ear of the kids today, but for those of us old enough to remember the heady days of hair metal through the 1980’s, even though this ISN’T that, it is a much more mature version of that, you will feel comfort enough in the song structure and melodic harmony tones of this album.
I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this album. It’s always a difficult thing to find out about a new band or release and come into it with any pre-conceived ideas about how it should sound and what you expect it to be like. With so much music out there in the world now, the ability to come up with something that will appeal to old fans and yet not be just a rehash or copy of the music that they know you for is a pretty difficult balancing act. What I eventually loved most about this album was the fact that it didn’t try to be anything that it wasn’t. It is an album by 55-65 year old guys whose experience allows them to fall comfortably into the music they have written, and perform it so well that you can’t help but like it. It is anything but a hard rock album, but it has songs that fit that profile. It is not an easy listening album, but it has moments that drift into comfort listening. More than anything else, it sounds great, and each of the members of the band do their job wonderfully well, and that makes it great to listen to.

Rating: "We walk alone". 3.5/5