#ROADTOBOA Interview: One Machine

Bloodstock 2016 logoHere we go again… Last year we covered every band on the Hobgoblin New Blood and Jagermeister stages in the run-up to Bloodstock 2015. This year, we’re going one better and aim to have interviews from all the bands on those two stages as well as all of those on the SOPHIE stage prior to the event kicking off on August 11th. That’s almost 100 interviews to get online for you lucky people over the course of the next couple of weeks. I bloody love this job, but you lot owe me a beer at Catton Hall, right?

Thanks to all the bands who’ve taken the time to respond so far!

One Machine – SOPHIE stage, Saturday

Questions answered by guitarist Steve Smyth

Simple things first – where are you guys from?

The band is based in London, though all of our members are spread across the whole of the south of England, from Bristol all the way to Ashford, Kent.

How did you meet?

When I arrived in England back in 2007, I contacted Jamie Hunt, a guitar player I knew I could get along with and write some great metal with as well. He was first, and the rest have come along through mutual friendships.

How long have you been playing together as a band?

This lineup of the band has been playing together since the release of the album back in September, though Chris has been with us since May 2014, Stefano since December 2014, and Matt coming in since September 2015. Long may it last!

Where does the name of the band come from?

The name of the band comes from an analogy made by a reasonably known theorist, who stated that the world is fast becoming connected at an alarming rate, all put together by mobile and home devices (laptops, iPads), that together form a supercomputer… or what he called the One Machine. I heard that and knew it had to be the name of the band. We look at the darker aspect of that, looking to a futuristic world where this might become a sad reality of human beings being succeeded and taken over by artificial intelligence.

What are your influences – individually or as a band?

Collectively as a band, we embrace the classic metal: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Dio, and on, and meld that with more modern based influence. For us, that ranges through a lot of things, but we’re very careful to try and stay as true as possible to the form of a song, not get too self-indulgent inside of these songs, and also to record and present these songs in the most technology-free form there is.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

I don’t hear anyone else doing what we’re doing – embracing the classic metal art, and melding it together with a more modern style. Most of our peers have embraced the more modern side, leaving the classic roots behind for the flavour of the day. We stand alone in that respect. We have big choruses, hooks by the truck load, and all of the players can play and sing too, but we stay true to the song.

What’s your live show like – why should the baying hordes troop over to the stage you’re playing on to watch you?

If you’re missing the element where you can scream and shout and sing along, thrash out and head bang till your neck breaks, One Machine are the band for you to come and see and experience at Bloodstock 2016! If you like seeing a band that can’t sit still and feed off of your energy, and give it back to you 250%, One Machine are the band you want to see at Bloodstock 2016!

When/how did you find out you’d been selected to play at Bloodstock?

We were contacted and offered the slot by the folks at Bloodstock, and very quickly and excitedly confirmed this right away! We are very happy to play this festival, and for me in particular, it feels really good to bring my own band here! After playing the Ronnie James Dio stage back in 2011 with Forbidden, I saw what a great festival this was becoming quickly, and hoped that in time I would be able to get One Machine onto a stage here. This is that year, and I couldn’t be happier about it!

What sort of setlist can we expect?

We are pulling material from our first two albums – our debut, The Distortion Of Lies And The Overdriven Truth, as well as our latest album, The Final Cull. We will also be placing a very special dedicated song in tribute to Ronnie James Dio in our set as well.

Which main stage band do you most hope you’re not clashing with so you can see them play?

Well, I really hope that we’re not playing at the same time as Fear Factory, so we can get a chance to see them play!

What are you working on at the moment?

We are touring this album to the end of the year, and will be focusing on writing the next album for release next year.

What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done on tour?

I’ve seen and done many wild things on tour, but can speak about none of it! Ha ha!

What advice would you give to a young band just starting out today?

Make sure you’re a fan of the music first, find and stick with your heroes, then get on with being your own person and entity, then write, record, and play live as much as possible!

If you could be part of any 3-band line-up who else would you have on the bill? One band above you and one below – a chance to plug a smaller, unsigned act!

We would love to tour with Death Angel, and to have perhaps a band from Scotland called Damaj opening for us would be a good billing?

What stage / time are you playing at Bloodstock (if you have your slot yet!)

We are playing on Saturday August 13th, though I don’t have our stage time just yet, but look for us later in the day! Stay tuned for all news related to that via our Facebook page.

One Machine: official | facebook | twitter | youtube | spotify

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