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Thursday, 20 May 2010 00:00 |
Meet Machines of Grace. They are the latest among the gifted hard rock/heavy metal bands born from Boston’s thriving music scene. Zak Stevens (vocals), Jeff Plate (drums), Matt Leff (guitar) and Chris Rapoza (bass) have concocted their own proprietary formula for whiplash on a disc.
Top shelf status comes from the experience of successfully headlining major tours and support from a monumental fan base. Drummer Jeff (Trans Siberian Orchestra, Savatage, Metal Church) Plate and lead singer Zak (Circle II Circle, Savatage) Stevens have the resume to help catapult Machines of Grace into the monsters of rock realm. “It’s just a pure, solid melodic rock sound,” offers Stevens. “It has infectious grooves and its own brand of outright power. To me, it’s got great songwriting with a hard rock edge and strong commercial appeal.”
Leff and Stevens have a lengthy history, spanning back to their days as protégés at GIT/VIT respectively. Their first band, Wickedwitch, also introduced the talents of drummer Jeff Plate, who clinched the line-up and formed the backbone of today’s brainchild: Machines of Grace.
During a considerable hiatus after the demise of the Wickedwitch project, Zak Stevens had gone on to front Savatage (and more recently, Circle II Circle), and later recruited Jeff Plate, who performs regularly with the Trans Siberian Orchestra and Metal Church. Meanwhile, Matt Leff had formed Trigger Effect, and with bassist Chris Rapoza, had toured as an opening act for Iron Maiden, Queensryche and Rob Halford.
Time had clearly hit the afterburners. Call it chemistry, fate or pure coincidence. A Wickedwitch fan suggested that the founding members revise, rethink, record and release the original material, and voila - Machines of Grace was conceived.
This band accords a shot of rock and roll that infuses several music genres with an innovative twist of smoldering vocals and bludgeoning guitar riffs. Blend that with an explosive rhythm section and you’ve got an exceptionally powerful elixir. “I’d say we’re a mix of melodic metal, hard rock, modern rock and acoustic rock,” explains guitarist Matt Leff. “The current rock climate is calling for modern production, strong vocal melodies and memorable songs from guys that can really play. I think we fit that description.” Bassist Chris Rapoza agrees: “The CD has an amazing vibe that just flows really well and makes you want to listen to it all the way through. To me, song writing and recording with that same quality always makes for the best type of album.”
Jeff Plate tops off the sentiment: “The music is metal, but not thrash. Rock, but not pop. We could be compared to a number of different bands, and each song will give you a different impression, but in the end the sound is distinctly Machines of Grace.”
That sound is likewise attributed to the talents of veteran mixologist Paul David Hager. Credited with engineering, mixing and producing studio work by acts such as The Goo Goo Dolls, Avril Lavigne, Pink and Tracy Bonham, Hager brings to the table a record destined for the spotlight, and plenty of industry accolades.
Live, this band brings new meaning to the term full throttle. The killer studio version of the music not withstanding, Machines of Grace takes a live performance experience to a whole new level. Fans will really enjoy the dueling guitar and vocal arrangements, while the second-to-none rhythm section welds them together perfectly. Zak promises, “You’ll hear the emphasis on the album, the way the mix very closely depicts how this band actually sounds when we plug in.” How many bands these days can do that?
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Machines of Grace Featured on Dee Snider's House of Hair |
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Thursday, 15 July 2010 18:19 |
Win the new Machines of Grace CD and an autographed custom Jackson guitar. Want to keep up with some of the best new fresh metal? Then the HOH is the place to score the new Machines of Grace CD!
What do you win?
25 Winners each get:
One (1) signed copy of the new Machines of Grace CD and a MOG t-shirt AND… 1 Grand Prize Winner from those qualifiers also gets a signed, custom, factory fresh, Jackson JS23 Dinky Guitar featuring:
• Bolt-on maple neck
• 24 jumbo frets
• Jackson JE10 humbucking bridge pup
• Single coil neck and mid pups
• Chrome hardware
• 5-position blade switch
• 2-point fulcrum tremolo
How to Enter:
Fill in the Entry Form at http://houseofhaironline.com/2010/07/win-new-machines-of-grace-cd-and-autographed-custom-jackson-guitar/. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON ONLY, please. Incomplete entries will be tossed out – all address fields, station (or how you heard about the contest) field, and name fields must be 100% complete! Only entries received by 7/28/10 will be considered. The HOH staff will choose the winners in a random drawing. Contest Start Date: Monday, July 12, 2010. Contest End Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at midnight. |
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Monday, 28 March 2011 15:41 |
The members of Machines Of Grace were stoked when the opportunity came to perform with Stryper on some of the dates from their 25th Anniversary World tour.
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Machines of Grace in Guitar World magazine |
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Monday, 29 March 2010 22:18 |
Each month, Guitar World magazine includes a CD-ROM with every single issue and the song "Fly Away", from our debut CD, is featured on the May 2010 CD (street date is April 6th). This means almost 250,000 pairs of ears will be exposed to the band! Slash is on the cover and the magazine is available worldwide, go grab a copy now! |
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Zak and Jeff interviewed immediately following appearance on Eddie Trunk's Sirius/XM radio show |
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Tuesday, 29 December 2009 23:14 |
Vocalist Zak Stevens and drummer Jeff Plate are perhaps best known to the world for their work with the mega-successful Yuletide metal ensemble Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO), whose spectacular Christmas tours have made them arena sensations, while their latest album Night Castle hit #5 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. You can hear Stevens sing back-up vocals on three songs on it, while Plate played on the new album and is on their current tour. But serious metal mavens know that the duo go back over 20 years to their time in the Boston-based metal quartet Wicked Witch, a group that played approximately 250 gigs in their three short years together.
Click HERE to read the full story! |
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