Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
I'm James Garcia, I play Bass VI in the two-piece Reflex Machine with drummer Alex Oakley. We started nearly four years ago, with a mutual love for Mastodon's earlier material. We were in an indie-punk band together called Voted Down at the time, and I'd been wanting to start a sludge metal two-piece. I learned Alex absolutely shreds on the drums, so we gave it a shot. Fast forward four years, and a bunch of crazy shows and tours, and we now have three smaller releases out and have our debut LP dropping in September called 'Interzone.'
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
We're a rhythmically abrasive, sci-fi post-metal band. Our major influences are SUMAC, Neurosis, Melvins, early Mastodon, and The Mars Volta.
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Metalheads like to feel things to their cores, which is why a good amount of them tend to gravitate toward horror movies and psychoactive substances. Well, 'Interzone' is basically a brutal soundtrack to a mind-bending sci-fi horror film... think 'Fear and Loathing' meets 'Alien.' This album will make you feel a certain creepy way about existence. In a very loud sense.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
'Interzone' will be our debut full-length. We've had a couple smaller releases, two EPs and a split, that we recorded in our warehouse practice space, but definitely nothing to this magnitude. Our music video for 'Evitative,' off our split with Ghost Embryo, got some traction on social media. It's a pretty entertaining watch, utilizing a lot of green screen and projection madness. People definitely seem to like that song a lot. (https://www.facebook.com/ReflexMachineBand/videos/1359443357526242/)
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
We play as much as we possibly can. We try to hit the road as often as possible, and of course try to support touring bands that come through as much as we can without over-saturating our area. Honestly, as much fun as it is to record, we're all about the live game. If we're not making people thrash in a live setting, what's the point? We have a very unique, high-energy stage presence, and with three full-stacks of amplification, we really bring the thunder, especially for a two-piece.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
We're taking a road less traveled. There aren't a whole lot of bands who sound like us, if any. This scares a lot of people, who are uncomfortable with change and accepting something different. But we're bringing it. I truly believe there's a shift happening in music, where atonal leads, dissonant melodies and a whole cacophony of strange sounds are taking over the landscape... and we're on the front lines. If that sounds interesting, then we're the band for you!
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
We're trying to break into the festival circuit, so that's our long-term goal. We find we do best in scenarios where random people can stumble onto us doing our thing. Even if our music isn't exactly people's cup of tea, we find they stick around to see what the f*** is happening, with our setup, our song structure and just our general vibe. On the short-term, we have a bunch of weekend-warrior dates planned all throughout September and October, traveling the east coast, and we'd like to continue releasing music regularly throughout the winter and through next year, including eventually re-recording our older material. So look out for that!
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
https://reflexmachine.com
https://reflexmachine.bandcamp.com
August 2019