A Quiet Death is a robust and dark rumbling glitch assembly despite primarily using synthetic and staccato drum segments. The tracks are highly palatable and shift into a variety of structures and genres, pushing the album into rugged terrain, making it highly recommended.
Alternating between controlled chaos and control
A Quiet Death by Drummachinemike caught me off-guard because I wasn’t expecting so much substance from a release mostly consisting of percussion components; although in retrospect, it shouldn’t come as a surprise, as this moniker has been active since 2014 with a slew of releases. A punchy rhythm made up of loud percussion sounds that are arranged in unfurling patterns opens “Missing Steps.” The music is advanced by two distinct mid-range patterns that most nearly resemble melodic parts. The track starts off as abstract techno before changing into a dub motif. In particular, a single, repeated vocal loop alludes to deep bass music as reverb is applied toward the end of the piece—providing a real sense of space. At last, “Missing Steps” transitions to solid dubstep components, including powerful bass notes and alarm-like tones.
“Reactive Compounds,” which is sequenced utilizing delay-effects, emits echoing toxic alarm beeps. The undulating effect is caused by the delay matching the tempo. I’m reminded of early British techno with catchy bright tone patterns. Deeper grooves are produced by acid bass and dub-like voices. The track keeps at a steady tempo around 1:15, feeling almost hypnotic. At 2:00, a wild mod sequence evokes factory alarms. The music then transitions into drum and bass, which lasts until the very end, fading with a call-and-response that alternates between controlled chaos and control.
Drummachinemike continues to carve his own path without slowing down; vocal samples ping left and right in “The Music of Machines,” which begins with a constant drone tone, allude to artificial intelligence. It is pointed out that we can no longer tell what is real and what isn’t because of artificial intelligence. A clip of a background choir appears to provide technological salvation. The piece’s rhythmic framework is provided by fractal taps, which are supported by reverberant bass plunks. The song switches to drum and bass at 2:15, and a lot of the sounds are stretched until they ultimately break down. The final scene of “The Music of Machines” features a persistent, illbient bass line. Much of the album features pummeling soundscapes with forward-thinking and darker-tinged dub-electronics full stop.
A Quiet Death is a robust and dark rumbling glitch assembly despite primarily using synthetic and staccato drum segments. The tracks are highly palatable and shift into a variety of structures and genres, pushing the album into rugged terrain, making it highly recommended.
A Quiet Death is available on Bandcamp.
