Of Machines was an American post-hardcore band from

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States. Formed in 2006, the band was originally known as We Are Kings. The band released their debut and only album ''As If Everything Was Held in Place'' on March 3, 2009, on Rise Records.

History

Of Machines was formed in 2006 by then-original members Austin Thornton, Bennett Freeman, Dylan Anderson, Mark Tanner, Michael Matejick and Jonathan Lugo. While recording their album with producer and guest vocalist

Cameron Mizell Cameron Pierce Mizell is an American artist, songwriter, singer, record producer and owner of Chango Studios. He began producing music in 2003 & has worked with Billboard charts, Billboard top charting artists such as Sleeping With Sirens, Memphis ...

at Chango Gridlock Studios in (Casselberry, Florida),the band sought the attention of various record labels. The band decided to sign to Rise Records on October 14, 2008. Soon after the release of their debut album in 2009, the band embarked on touring their region to which their debut album was well received and gained much significance. ''As If Everything Was Held in Place'' is the only album the band has released as Of Machines. Vocalist Dylan Anderson left the band in 2010 on undisputed grounds, following Andersons departure the band entered a three-year hiatus. They reformed in 2013 as the original line up with the ambition to record a new EP dubbed ''Chroma Season/Chroma Dreamcoat'' which spawned demos, ''All Along The Greyscale'' and ''An Autobiography In Vivid Color Pt. 2'' found on their YouTube channel. With the anticipation to release an EP in the latter part of 2013, the band asked for support of fans to contribute to a

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to help with the production of the EP. After a period of silence and uncertainty, the band informed fans of ill-fated news that the EP could not be completed due to the absence of the band's vocalist Anderson and the disappearance of the Crowdfund. The subsequent news led to the domino effect of all members disbanding in 2015 and also the release of untitled compilation of demos. Later vocalist Anderson took to Facebook and issued a statement in regards to his absence and disappearance of the crowdfund. On May 30th, 2022 unclean vocalist Bennett Freeman unexpectedly passed away at the age of 30.

Musical style

Of Machines is categorized as

Post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

Electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrume ...

Ambient rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation wit ...

Alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

. Their style is credited as a landmark of the post-hardcore genre in terms of innovation, musicianship and deliverance.

Band members

;Final line up * Dylan Anderson -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

(2006-2010, 2013–2015) * Bennett Freeman -

unclean vocals A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for the ...

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s (2006–2010, 2013–2015; died 2022) * Mark Tanner -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(2006–2010, 2013–2015) * Michael Matejick -

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

(2006–2010, 2013–2015) * Jonathan Lugo -

(2006–2010, 2013–2015) ;Past members * Austin Thornton -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

(2006 - 2009) * Brent Guistwite -

(2010) * Loniel Robinson -

(2009-2010) ;Session musicians *

guest vocals In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

(2009)

Discography

;Studio albums * ''As If Everything Was Held in Place'' (2009) ;Miscellaneous demos * ''An Autobiography In Vivid Color Pt. 2'' (2013) * ''All Along The Greyscale'' (2013) * ''Chroma Season/Chroma Dreamcoat EP untitled demos (2015)''

References

{{Authority control Rise Records artists Musical groups from Atlanta American post-hardcore musical groups Musical groups established in 2006