Gold Key - Panic Machine Review

Win, lose or draw, I've always held supergroups in a high regard. The melting pot of talent that goes into any particular group just always holds my intrigue into how the band is going to sound, usually regardless of the people involved. How can you not be interested in what a supergroup featuring Frédéric Leclercq, Attila Csihar and Joey Jordison is going to sound like or how Geoff Rickley fronting Lostprophets is going to land?

Imagine my delighted surprise then when former and current members of Gallows, Spycatcher, Sikth and Blackhole announced that they were going to Megazord themselves into an outfit called Gold Key - only to then sound nothing like their root bands.

Spacey yet impactful, calming yet frenetic, Gold Key's debut album 'Hello, Phantom' accomplished the wonderful feat of drawing influences from the lads' more notable works whilst providing a largely original execution that basks in a morning light, over a freshly-dewed field that is periodically interrupted by cinematic explosions and car chases.

Thankfully 'Hello, Phantom' wasn't just a one-off experiment and the boys have reconvened for the follow-up 'Panic Machine'. Ironically recorded under self-isolated conditions, 'Panic Machine' has taken the expansive whirlpool of sound that they conjured on the debut and given it a feeling of immediacy, resulting in one of the most stellar rock releases of the year.

The Tool-like opener of "Sweet Darkness" expertly builds the drama and intensity before the nation's best-kept musical secret Steve Sears comes in and bathes the scene in a feeling of serenity, his voice never faltering in conveying emotion and does as much for the band's overall sound as any instrument could ever do. Even in the follow-up song "Don't Sleep", which is undoubtedly the Lags-flex portion of the album, Sears' range and almost inhuman control of his voice just does so much for Gold Key at large.

Getting to previously-released single "Mechanical World" and for me - a person who loves a good musical swell (or crescendo in nerd speak) - I thought that the cinematic drama would peak here. The foundations of James Leach's bass riffs, the duelling high-pitched bends, the slight synth backing, Jack Kenny suddenly playing like his kit owed him money, Sears being Sears, surely the heights of the album had been achieved here no? No indeed, "Trick of the Light" deserves to soundtrack every dramatic 'hero doesn't know if he can do it anymore' movie scene and every 'underdog must find his way' WWE promo package. It is just everything you'd want and need from theatrical music.

The album is enticing to it's final note. The ending salvo of "Human"'s upbeat energy that then moulds into the headfuckery of the "Millions" interlude piece, before closing track "The Best of Luck" punctuates feelings of fulfillment and closure with the floating repetition of "I wouldn't have it any other way". As cliché as it sounds, it's hard to argue against that statement.

The power in this album is gargantuan, in the current social and musical climates, 'Panic Machine' is a Big Chungus of rock. For every bit of praise and glory Biffy Clyro were getting on 'Only Revolutions', Arctic Monkeys on 'AM' or QOTSA on '...Like Clockwork', or any other modern rock Goliath you care to mention, Gold Key should be seen at the very least as nipping at their heels.