''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 (band), Jesu frontman Justin Broadrick. The act also features Isis (band), Isis frontman and guitarist Aaron Turner, Jesu bassist Diarmuid Dalton and He ...

, 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 and Isis, while also pa ...

, 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 that specializes 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 experiment ...

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

Vultures Descend "Vultures Descend" is a song by experimental music project Greymachine, from the act's debut album, '' Disconnected''. Produced by the band leader Justin Broadrick, it was released on 12 May 2009 as a single via bandmember Aaron Turner's own recor ...

" was released as a limited edition

promotional single A promotional recording, or 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 ...

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 music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

'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 Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

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 handled ...

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 within a musical context. This type of music tends to challenge the distinction that is made in conventional musical practices between musical and non-musical ...

, no wave and

free jazz Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during ...

. 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 title Fall of Because but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals and programming) and G. C. Gree ...

'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 monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

's ''

The Anatomy of Addiction ''The Anatomy of Addiction'' is the second and final studio album by the experimental rock band God, released on 5 May 1994 by Big Cat Records. Reception Allmusic staff writer Ned Raggett gave the record three stars, calling it a "fantastic lis ...

''. 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. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male- ...

, the record still retains "a punk rock 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 was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

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 out ...

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 in 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 in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

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 A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the super ...

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 About.com) 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, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

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 (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

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 is 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 '' Ghost ...

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 th ...

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