(Andy Synn presents his thoughts on one of the best debut albums of 2026)
A couple of months back I took a quick jaunt back up to my old stomping grounds to catch Metallic Hardcore legends Merauder play a killer show at The Bread Shed in Manchester.
What made the show even better was the fact that, in response to the fact that two different – and potentially competing – tours were in town the same night, the promoters decided to combine forces in a laudable display of both scene solidarity and business savvy, meaning I got even more bang for my buck with the inclusion of a whole other roster of bands on the bill.
And the one that really stood out was that of New York Thrash-core thrillsters New World Man, who made sure that eveyone there would remember their name with an absolutely electrifying, ass-kicking performance that recalled the likes of Power Trip, Drain, and Enforced at their very best.
Which is why I made a mental note to check out their new album (just released on Closed Casket Activities) as soon as it came out, because I knew that if they managed to capture even half of the energy and intensity of their live show on record they would be in line to make a major impact.
So grab your helmets and your elbow pads and prepare to get absolutely wrecked by I Am the Machine.
Bursting out of the gates (following the scene-setting “Dawn of the Machine”) the title-track is a ripper, a rager, and an absolute rampager of thrash-tastic riffs and pounding Hardcore-influenced rhythms – equal parts frantic fretwork and heaving chuggery, howling hooks and absolutely vicious vocals – that immediately sets the bar for the rest of the album and establishes itself as a firm “song of the year” contender.
Thankfully it’s not an aberration but simply the first in an absolute barrage of similarly scorching sonic assaults like the absolutely frenzied “Sound the Alarm!” (which frequently sounds like it’s only moments away from exploding apart in a spray of molten metallic shrapnel) and the chattering, machine-gun riffs and chugging grooves of “Hot Dog in Pigtown” (re-recorded from their 2022 self-titled EP) that show off just how viscerally infectious the band’s blend of influences – combining the savagery of early Kreator and the crunch of 80s-era Anthrax with the chunky grooves of Suicidal Tendencies and the sneering attitude of Leeway – can be.
These aren’t the only elements which make up the diverse DNA of New World Man, of course… especially considering the band’s willingness to get a little weird when they feel like it, as there’s definitely some Voivod in both the aforementioned “I Am the Machine” and “Hot Dog in Pigtown”, while the intro to “Demonic Menagerie” (which is guaranteed to be a major favourite, I’m sure) feels like it owes more to Rush and The Police (while the hammering second half demonstrates exactly why they were such a good fit on that Merauder show).
Indeed, the influence of Alex Lifeson, Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart (who still stands alone, six years on) goes far deeper than just the band’s name, not least in some of the impressively technical, Peart-esque percussive patterns wielded by drummer Heath Logiovino (especially in the second half of “Sound the Alarm!”) and the unexpectedly proggy lead guitar work of Mike Shaw and Michael Botti (which, when combined with the lithe, bouncy bass lines of Abby Rhine, make the likes of “Devil Time” and punishing penultimate powerhouse “Down on the Farm (P.I.G.)” feel like they owe as much to Moving Pictures as they do to Desperate Measures).
Sure, sometimes the weirdness doesn’t quite land the way the band probably intended – I may be in the minority in this, but I find the guest vocals by Jason Tarpey (Eternal Champion) during the aforesaid “Devil Time” just too jarring a shift to take seriously, which is a shame because the rest of the song is so damn good – but their willingness to take some seriously strange risks (I’m not sure how else you’d describe the decision to book-end “Crackhead”, arguably the album’s nastiest, gnarliest number, with a moody, piano-led intro and a smooth, jazzy outro) is a real testament to the band’s outsized confidence and punk-as-fuck, take-no-shit attitude.
It would be remiss of me as well not to mention how fucking hard both the lyrics and vocals go here, frontman Ridge Rhine’s ragged, commanding snarl – just wait until you hear him howl “I am the devil, I am a cannibal, I am the beast, I am the machine!” during crushing closer “Hellmonger Deluxe” (which might just be my personal favourite track, just beating out “I Am the Machine” itself) – spitting blood and spewing venomous tales of burning bodies, chemical addiction, and a society collapsing under the weight of its own self-destructive habits.
Make no mistake, this is an absolutely stunning debut from a band more than worthy of being dubbed “the next Power Trip“… except it feels wrong calling them “the next” anything when the truth is that, more than anything else, they’re the one and only New World Man.