''Disconnected'' is the debut album by

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

act

Greymachine Greymachine is an experimental music project founded in 2006. It is led by Godflesh and Jesu frontman Justin Broadrick. The act also features Isis frontman and guitarist Aaron Turner, Jesu bassist Diarmuid Dalton and Head of David bassist Dave ...

, featuring

Justin Broadrick Justin Karl Michael Broadrick (born 15 August 1969) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the band Godflesh, one of the first bands to combine elements of extreme metal and i ...

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands Sumac (band), SUMAC and Isis ...

, Dave Cochrane and

Diarmuid Dalton Diarmuid Dalton is an Irish musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bass guitarist of post-metal bands, Jesu and Iroha. Dalton frequently collaborates with Justin Broadrick, who is the founder of Godflesh and Jesu. Biography Irish b ...

. Produced by Broadrick, it was released on 4 August 2009 via Turner's own record label,

Hydra Head Records Hydra Head Records was an independent record label specializing in extreme metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner (the frontman of Isis) in 1993. It had another imprint, Hydra Head Noise Industries, which specialized in experimental ...

. In February 2018, ''Disconnected'' was reissued as a limited 2xLP with unique artwork and clear vinyl. The track " Vultures Descend" was released as a limited edition

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

on 12 May 2009.

Musical style

Regarding ''Disconnected's'' style, Broadrick said: According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Phil Freeman, the songs on ''Disconnected'', "most of which run in the eight to nine-minute range, all feature a heavy combination of huge beats, sludgily dissonant guitar riffs, industrial electronics, and raw-throated howls." " Droning soundscapes layered into weighted guitar riffs,

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...

and general noise" are also present on the record. These take influence from various genres of

, including

noise music Noise music is a genre of music that is characterised by the expressive use of noise. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical sound. Noise music include ...

no wave No wave was an avant-garde music genre and visual art scene that emerged in the late 1970s in Downtown New York City. The term was a pun based on the rejection of commercial new wave music. Reacting against punk rock's recycling of rock and r ...

and

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

. The album is also indebted to its members' earlier work on records, like

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the original title O.P.D. (later Fall of Because) but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programmi ...

's ''

Streetcleaner ''Streetcleaner'' is the debut studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 13 November 1989 through Earache Records and was reissued with a second disc of previously unreleased material on 21 June 2010. The album ...

'', Isis's ''

Celestial Celestial may refer to: Science * Objects or events seen in the sky and the following astronomical terms: ** Astronomical object, a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure that exists in the observable universe ** Celest ...

'', Ice's '' Under the Skin'', and

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

's '' The Anatomy of Addiction''. Nevertheless, according to Iann Robinson of

CraveOnline Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial D ...

, the record still retains "a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

influence born from The Stooges or

The Screamers The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label "techno-punk" to the band in 1978. In the documentary '' Punk: Attitude'' ( ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

and Throbbing Gristle were reported to be additional influences and likes.

Critical reception

Phil Freeman of AllMusic praised the album, stating, "''Disconnected'' is likely to be a one-off, given the astonishingly busy schedules its members keep, but it's no mere diversion; if you're a fan of Broadrick or Turner, it's one for the permanent collection." Iann Robinson of

described the album as "a pure and true testament to real experimentation", while also stating that "

n a N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

musical world that breeds as much apathetic mediocrity as the current one does a noisy enema like Greymachine's ''Disconnected'' is a welcome friend." Cam Lindsay of

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

wrote, "Greymachine's compositions move at a slower rate, bringing the brutality with a doom-filled heaviness that asphyxiates with an impenetrable

wall of noise ''Wall of Noise'' is a 1963 American drama film directed by Richard Wilson, written by Joseph Landon, and starring Suzanne Pleshette, Ty Hardin, Dorothy Provine, Ralph Meeker, Simon Oakland and Jimmy Murphy. It was released by Warner Bros. o ...

built by scraping riffage and floating effects." Nevertheless, he also stated that "While it shows Broadrick can still find that harsh realm he cut his teeth on, ''Disconnected'' doesn't live up to the massive potential Greymachine had on paper." George Pacecho of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

expressed his distaste of the album, saying, "''Disconnected'', the resulting spawn of this much-talked-about collaboration, seems to be of a far less genre-defining nature". Cosmo Lee of

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

criticized the album, stating, "Greymachine wastes the talents of Broadrick and Turner." He also commented that "the album feels like a collection of demos – for a

remix EP, perhaps, or for Broadrick's earlier beat-oriented projects like

Techno Animal Techno Animal was an electronic duo formed in 1990 in London, England by British musicians Justin Broadrick (of the band Godflesh) and Kevin Martin (aka the Bug, of the band God). The duo released six LPs beginning with their 1991 debut ''Gho ...

or Ice."

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Disconnected'' liner notes *

– drums, electronics, guitar, vocals, programming, mixing, production * Dave Cochrane – bass *

–

bowed Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound. Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to t ...

bass, electronics *

– electronics, guitar, vocals, layout design

References

External links

Greymachine – ''Disconnected'' on Hydra Head Records
{{Authority control 2009 debut albums Hydra Head Records albums Greymachine albums