Review of the Album "The New Machine of Liechtenstein" by German Thrash Metal Band Holy Moses

"The New Machine of Liechtenstein" is the 3^rd studio album by German thrash metal band Holy Moses and it is their last studio album of the 1980’s. The thrash influence is definitely present with Sabina Classen’s voice sounding a bit rawer, and punk related. Playing the guitars on this album is her now ex-husband Andy Classen. The first song called Near Dark has some impressive lead guitar work as well as an interesting twin guitar sound that repeats itself.

Def Con 2 is a song that is about trying to save the United Nations which is considered useless. It gets to a point where politicians get under massive scrutiny for their actions that contribute to the well-being of the top 1% of the population. Def Con 2 has a pair of guitar solos, the first of which is slower and more creative. This is something that German power metal band Helloween would experiment with in their 1990’s albums.

The song Panic once again features that twin guitar sound as the song describes a society or country that has been ravaged by civil war as there is much panic. Strange Deception features drumming that is of the double bass variety and the song is slow at first. I don’t remember hearing twin guitar sounds in Holy Moses’ 1990 album World Chaos so there’s one of the differences between that album and this one.

Lucky Popster is a very fast song that tells the story of a person that is dazed and confused. This person is losing their grip on reality. They want to put this phase of their life behind them. Can they do this? SSP or the song called Secret Service Project is a song about a very powerful machine, a machine so powerful that it is more powerful than even missiles or atomic bombs. Unfortunately, the rise of technology has enabled people to create more powerful weapons that will be a major detriment to the health and safety of Planet Earth.

State Catatonic is a song that continues on the same lyrical theme as the previous song. Scientists working in their white coats in laboratories aren’t aware that their creations have the potential to create a destructive power. That’s why they have to create responsibly. The song sounds like the guitar tone that is used on the album Alice in Hell. There is also a musical similarity to the song Human Insecticide in some respects. Is it a better song than that one? That’s not so easy to say but the riffing is impressive.

The last song called Lost in the Maze is about a powerful machine that threatens the life of humans on Earth. The song starts with fast picking that is often constant. If humans cannot control what they create, the life on this planet is in jeopardy. Is The New Machine of Liechtenstein a better album than World Chaos? The answer would be that it may be only slightly better.