Silent Machine
Artist: Twelve Foot Ninja Release year: 2012 Relationship: First Listen · Submission Overall rating: ★★★☆☆
Released in November 2012, Silent Machine was the debut full-length from Melbourne’s Twelve Foot Ninja, a band already known for mixing metal with funk, dub, progressive rock, and other left turns. The album was introduced through the group’s ambitious “Project 12” campaign, which paired weekly song releases with digital comics, and it arrived at a time when adventurous heavy music was spreading quickly online. Rather than fit neatly into one scene, Silent Machine stood out for how confidently it treated genre-switching as the whole point.
Album Notes
The best moments on this album are the ones where the structure genuinely surprises me. Some of these songs morph mid-track, sometimes into what feels like an entirely different genre, and they do it with a level of control that keeps it from feeling forced. That kind of movement holds my attention really well. I like when a song feels alive enough to keep reintroducing itself. At the same time, I felt a bit detached from the project as a whole outside of those standout moments. While I admire how fluidly they blend styles, a lot of the project felt like it was sitting in the middle of several different ideas without fully becoming one distinct thing. When the genre mash ups weren’t happening the songs came off too safe, too one-note, or just forgettable to me.
I think a part of that disconnect came from what I can only describe as a “dad-rock” feeling. I do not mean that literally in a strict genre sense, but more as a certain familiar rock energy that felt a little too polished and conventional for my taste. There is a kind of broad, swaggering alt-metal/hard-rock DNA running through parts of this album that made some moments feel less strange or dangerous than they could have. Even when the band is doing something technically impressive, that underlying rock confidence sometimes made the music feel more traditional than experimental. Nik’s vocal performance ties into this too. His clean, more theatrical delivery did not always work for me. I was much more interested when his performance was more abrasive, because those moments gave the songs more tension and made them feel less predictable.
Overall, I can hear exactly what makes this album exciting to others, especially in the way it shifts, blends, and surprises. But for me, its strongest qualities were also what made the weaker stretches stand out more. When it was inventive, it really pulled me in. When it leaned too heavily into that familiar polished rock sensibility, it started to loose me.
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Track Notes
1. Coming For You — ★★★★☆
Wow this caught me very off guard. What an interesting blend of sounds. Some of those echos of the vocals are really effective. “I AM COMING” Wow, the first one made me jump. What a cool song. So many shifts the song literally morphs. That end!? What a great opening track, gets me excited for whats next.
2. Kingdom — ★★☆☆☆
Felt a little cheesy at certain parts. Really love the guitar on the track but that’s kind of it. Kind of right in the middle of lots of things but not fully anything. Didn’t connect.
3. Mother Sky — ★★★☆☆
Ok, I’m hit with the same unexpected twists that I felt in the first track. Bass sounds insane—I love it. Felt pretty safe but I like the harmonizations that is really pretty. Almost spooky.
4. Shuriken — ★★☆☆☆
“Lalala, lalala, lalala…” was not expecting. Felt like a touch of whimsy. Was my favorite part, but the song overall felt one note. A bit repetitive. Those electronic elements at the outro are really cool. They really are blending lots of different styles pretty seamlessly.
5. Vanguard — ★★★☆☆
Instantly captivated by the environment of the song. Just felt super deep and threatening, like danger. Then it just snaps alive into almost a reggae style. I seriously never know what to expect which is awesome.
6. Deluge — ★★★☆☆
This track got me curious about the comic books that came along with the album release. It’s pretty theatrical so it got me thinking about that. Wouldn’t say I am a fan of the song, but it made me want to see what a visual for something like this would be like.
7. Liberation — ★★☆☆☆
Kinda felt like it dragged on… I don’t have many notes for this one. Was just okay.
8. Silent Machine — ★★★★☆
Guitar stands out. I really liked all the tempo shifts in the track. Has a nice groove to it, it balances calm, groove, and intensity really well. End has this ominous feeling, really loved that last minute of the song. For sure my favorite part.
9. Rogue — ★★★☆☆
Sometimes I’m not really a fan of Nik’s voice, here is one of those times. It feels a little comical to me at times or maybe super conventional? I guess it feels like sleek and clean by design. That tends to be forgettable for me.
10. Myth of Progress — ★★☆☆☆
Mmmm, ok so I like the rougher delivery on this track. Sounds a bit more aggressive and his voice literally sounds rougher which I prefer. But this track also feels particularly forgettable to me. I’ve been having a hard time staying immersed in the album still.
11. Ain’t That a Bitch — ★★★★☆
Ok this song pulled me back in. This one is beautiful to me, has great lyrics. The song grows really well I like how the energy picks up and the production on this track is amazing. Drums really sound great, and I like the pauses for those theatrical sounds that old timey piano?
12. Luna — ★★★★☆
Guitar is actually so interesting, really stands out. It wanted to get a bit repetitive but since the tempo shifts so much and the music is actually different at so many points of the song it actually held my attention pretty well. I think it was a strong ending to the project.