Secret Machines @ Metro

The Secret Machines can do a couple things really, really well. To start, drummer Josh Garza pumps his bass drum louder than anyone this side of John Bonham. This lays the foundation for a majority of the Machines’ tunes. To accompany this beast on drums, lead singer Brandon Curtis produces some serious grooves on bass. These two together create a truly unique sound that contains dark, eerie and pulsing elements.

Oh, and they’re really loud.

The three-member band took the stage Oct. 24 at Metro in Chicago with white wires stretched behind them. The wires were arranged to give the impression of a 3-D shape that enclosed the band. The shape reminded me of the cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. The stage and crowd was very dark. Curtis was cast in shadow for the entire night, which added to the atmosphere.

The Machines opened with “Dreaming of Dreaming,” the song the band released shortly before their latest album came out. The song doesn’t appear on the album, but it certainly feels like it could have been on there. It features the patented huge drums and bass groove combo, with guitars providing spacey bridges.

Before the show I was wondering what the setlist would be like. Secret Machines released their self-titled album Oct. 12 –- their first in 2 ½ years. The band went through a lineup change after the release of “Ten Silver Drops,” when guitarist Benjamin Curtis (brother of Brandon) left the group. So I was interested in how many of the old songs they would play.

My question was somewhat answered with the second song, when they busted out “Nowhere Again,” the main single from their first album, “Now Here is Nowhere.” The remainder of the set had a few songs from this album sprinkled throughout, but mostly they stuck with songs off the new album.

Not until the encore did they play anything from “Ten Silver Drops,” before closing with a much-anticipated “First Wave Intact.”

The drums and bass, creepy lighting, and plain-old loud rock made for an enjoyable night. However, I have to say I was quite disappointed with the Machines’ new guitar player, Phil Karnats. He messed up a lot of the old songs, and I didn’t think he brought much to the new songs. Karnats was definitely taking a back seat to the other two, and it’s possible that this was by design. And on top of everything, his backing vocals were awful. Half the time you couldn’t hear him, and the times he could be heard, he was singing way out of key. I don’t know if he couldn’t hear his monitor or what. Hopefully the band will eventually be able to iron out these problems in the future.

Overall, a great show from a very entertaining (and loud!!) band.