The End Machine – ‘The Quantum Phase’

Heavy Rock

Frontiers Music srl

Release Date – March 8^th 2024

Review By Smudge

Crikey George Lynch is a busy fella. In recent years he’s put out records regularly with his ex-Dokken cohort Jeff Pilson, Stryper’s Michael Sweet, Lynch Mob and a solo effort. Now, here we have the next instalment of The End Machine. Sadly, singer Robert Mason is no longer part of the quartet, but they have a more than capable replacement in Girish Pradhan (Girish and the Chronicles) who brings his leather lungs and Coverdale croon.

‘Black Hole Extinction’ starts things with some dark and heavy fist-pumping metal which has some huge backing vocals and Lynch literally on fire. It’s equal parts ’80s heyday and modern metal with a classic rock feel. The dark theme remains on ‘’Silent Winter’ which takes its sweet time getting going but when it does – crikey – it goes hell for leather. Steve Brown batters the living daylights out of his kit giving us some driving power metal!

We get some prime melodic heavy rock on ‘Killer Of The Night’ where Pradhan displays his pipes then it’s more proper classic rock on Purple-esque ‘Hell Or High Water’. Pradhan gives us a full-on metal scream and the backing vocals are some wonderful ‘Noah’s’ that you just can’t help joining. Oh, and it rocks large! We get some sleazy hard rock on ‘Stand Up’ before things go southern on ‘Burning Man’ then its hair metal heaven on ‘Shattered Glass Heart’.

Pilson and Brown lay it down on ‘Time’ allowing some stunning fills from Lynch before the groove comes in then someone tinkles some synths on the 80’s style choppy rocker ‘Hunted’. There’s the more heavy groove on the stomping ‘Stranger In The Mirror’ before final cut ‘Into The Blazing Sun’ ends things on a sunny (sorry!) pop rocker.

Frontiers main-man Serafino Perugia has an ear for putting people together. Letting Girish Pradhan lend his voice to these songs was an awesome choice. He brings authenticity to Lynch and Pilson’s classic rock background. There’s some awesome stuff on here. Lynch is like a man possessed dishing out riffs and solos at will and with the powerhouse rhythm section of Pilson and Brown adding the necessary punch behind. Amazingly this is a really upbeat energetic record considering the theme is the bleak prospects for humanity if we continue the way we’re going.

Track List –

1 – Black Hole Extinction

2 – Silent Winter

3 – Killer Of The Night

4 – Hell Or High Water

5 – Stand Up

6 – Burning Man

7 – Shattered Glass Heart

8 – Twice

9 – Hunted

10 – Stranger In The Mirror

11 – Into The Blazing Sun