Canadian band Action Over Drive has a hard rock/metal sound that is hard, but yet melodic enough that you could almost picture hearing the material on the hard rock local station. It reminds me of older Nine Inch Nails mixed with COC...an odd combination you might think, but there is also a lot more to these cats than that of course. Action Over Drive have plenty of changes in their blues based classic rock/metal sounds that keeps the CD fresh constantly. The vocals are melodic at times, and gritty at other times, but always strong and right up front. Most of the songs are metal/stoner more than anything, but it seems to be coated with an almost industrial approach at times. Great changes, strong bluesy feels...guitar solos are great as well, showing that these guys are well rehearsed veterans of rock and not just another group of kids trying to throw together a stoner rock band. The vibe is often dark and evil all through this CD as well...there is just a ton of stuff going on. Some of the grooves remind me of stuff off of Goatsnake's first LP...lots of hooks that reel you in and have you bobbing your head to the beat. Good strong vocals and guitars, overall a great CD. Check it out if you are into Goatsnake, COC, NIN and just about everything hard rock/tinged industrial...maybe it's just me but it sort of sounds like that to me, nonetheless it's good hard rock done nicely.

Dirty, sleazy grease monkey rock that oozes back alley sexuality with tweaked stoner sounds. Fat bass and the fuzz is turned up to 11 in a throwback to the glory days of Kyuss. Burning rubber and blowing up one hell of a dust storm behind them, Action Over Drive live up to their name with plenty of dynamics on a diet full of gasoline. The girls will love this band as much as the guys do; one keg isn't enough for this party. A steady stream of adrenalin ensures that this group belongs on the soundtrack of the next Extreme Games. Never straying from behind the steering wheel, the songwriting is vibrant enough so that track 12 kicks just as much ass as track two does. Wave the checkered flag and let the victory lap beging.

Action Over Drive is a new Canadian rock band formed only two years ago by bassist Eric Frendas and vocalist/ guitarist Rick Devault. With Rick also playing drums, Action Over Drive hit the studio and quickly recorded Machine, their twelve songs debut full length. Now joined by drummer J.S. Gareau, Action Over Drive are operating as a full band. The first thing I noticed on opener "What I Brought" is the high level of energy. The C.O.C. influenced track and the next song, "Get On My Machine", are lively and energetic. "Thrill" is really heavy but also has some retro guitar work from Devault. "Weapon for Free" allows Frendas to make his presence felt with some heavy bass playing. The bottom end on "Fill Her Up" is equally brutal, especially considering this is coming from a rock band. "Recharged" delves into psychedelia, meanwhile "Win" is a seventies throwback mixed with some Kyuss. "Can't Hear You" and "Need More" both reveal great interaction between Devault's guitar playing and Frendas' bass work. As a matter of fact you will rarely hear a rock band using more bass playing as prominent as Action Over Drive. I encounter so many bands which fall into this stoner rock genre and I must say that Action Over Drive is one of the best bands I've come across. They are heavy, vibrant, and catchy. Not many bands capture these key elements but Machine is one of the best debuts this style of music has experienced.

It's really amazing to me that I seem to have pretty much missed out on when the crossover happened. What crossover? The crossover - that little grey area where bands step between the pages of stoner and enter new metal sounds? That's the one. I can't miss it here on Action Over Drive's 'Machine'. Not a chance of that. The thing is, there is so much that is such a part of the 'stoner rock' scene on this album that they aren't going over to any new metal side easy, that's for sure. There are some semi-rapping song parts, the D-tuned bass, the overtones of that sleek stuff done by newer bands - in both genres. Catchy lyrics as well. But through-out it all, there is a definite strong nod to Kyuss, to Fu Manchu and to the Fuzz! These guys play the stoner fuzz like the it's going out of style. To be sure, the fuzz is the strongest influence here. But there is no ignoring the overtones of the dreaded new metal. But damn, here is a band that can make the new metal not drill an acidic hole in my CD player. Thanks! There are some very cool songs on this album. It's definitely got a unique style, that fusion I mentioned above. They pull in these semi-insane vocals and sound somewhat industrial as well as clean. How to get past the new metal sounds? Hell I don't know. Listen and check it out. There is a lot more in common here with bands like Elephantum then there is with any new metal band on the radio. These guys are just, if not more so, at home in the stoner groove than in anything else. The saving grace is that there is no escape from that wicked guitar and it's riffs. The vocals are great - sounding straight and clean and yet mechanical in parts. There is an overlay of strong groove here that makes sure your ass is shaking. Lots of good layers to the songs make sure that the listener is pummeled with a large dose of space sounds and disjointed sounding vocals, especially prevalent in 'Recharged'. Really like the way they have layered up this song and made it almost Tool like except for the strong swirling guitar sounds. Impressive what Action Over Drive has managed to do. This album, if it ever gets played on the radio (and I'm not holding my breath, there is too much talent here) will be the one album to make those spoon fed kiddies take notice of the wide world of fuzz rock. A lot of fuzz and groove, great vocals and a really strong guitar and bass section, tons of weird sounds and strange parts thrown in for good measure, and what you get is a strong disc packed full of cool tunes that is accessible to the guys who listen to the radio and the stoner/fuzz crowd. Think a lot less angry and way more groovy Biohazard and you might come a bit close to Action Over Drive. Oh and the lyrics are thankfully devoid of the aggro styles. Stand-out tracks are 'Move Forward' (damn sexy vocals!), 'What I Brought' 'Fill Her Up' and 'Special Flight' (a right wicked song!)