Cries of being part of the machine have been the fodder of rock and roll for decades. For Pink Floyd it was the conformity stamping music industry that prompted their 1975 classic “Welcome to the Machine.” Hell, even Sebastian Bach lamented “I gotta punch the clock that leads the blind / I’m just another gear in the assembly line-oh no” on Skid Row’s 1991 Slave to the Grind. We’ve all felt that wearing down of the rough edges, whether it’s due to the corporate machine, the political machine…even the family machine. The crushing weight of authoritarianism and idealogical control has been acutely present these last few months, and it’s an oppressive weight Swedish black metal duo Obitus channel with a clinical fury on their latest release, Slaves of the Vast Machine.   Continue reading →