Look, I never thought I’d find myself raving about a concept album featuring a cosmic superhero in 2024, but damn if “Evil World Machine” hasn’t knocked me sideways like a Les Paul to the cerebellum. This debut from Crossbone Skully isn’t just another rock record—it’s a seismic event this is been brewing in Tommy Henriksen’s twisted mind while he is been slumming it with Alice Cooper and those Hollywood Vampires cats.
What makes this vinyl essential? For starters, Mutt Lange dragged himself out of his Swiss retirement castle to executive produce this beast. Yes, THAT Mutt Lange—the sonic architect behind AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and practically every diamond-selling rock record worth a damn in the last four decades. The man doesn’t leave his mountain lair for just any project, folks.
Dropping the needle on side A, you are immediately transported into Crossbone Skully’s universe—a dystopian playground where Bowie’s apocalyptic visions get filtered through stadium-sized riffs that would make Pete Townshend nod in approval. “Everyone’s On Dope” crashes out of the speakers like ZZ Top on performance enhancers, all swagger and menace with hooks that’ll haunt your shower singing for weeks.
The vinyl pressing itself is immaculate—Better Noise Music didn’t cut corners here. The low end rumbles with authority that digital streams simply can’t replicate, particularly evident when Phil Collen’s guest guitar work slices through the mix like a hot knife through butter. There’s something deeply satisfying about the ritual of flipping this record midway, giving you a moment to catch your breath before diving back into the sonic assault.
“I’m Unbreakable” showcases everything this supergroup does right—combining Nikki Sixx’s gutter-glam sensibilities with Henriksen’s meticulous production values. The vinyl format reveals layers that compressed streaming simply murders—little production Easter eggs that Mutt Lange sprinkled throughout like the mad scientist he is.
What strikes me most is how “Evil World Machine” manages to sound thoroughly modern while genuflecting to rock’s golden era. This isn’t retro cosplay—it’s the real deal from musicians who’ve been in the trenches with legends and absorbed those lessons like radiation.
The packaging merits mention too—heavyweight 180-gram pressing, gatefold artwork that rewards close inspection, and liner notes that actually tell you something beyond the usual thank-you list. In an age of disposable music consumption, that’s a proper artifact.
Available November 22nd, this vinyl release of “Evil World Machine” isn’t just recommended listening—it’s required ownership for anyone who still believes rock music should be dangerous, ambitious, and just a little bit ridiculous. Crossbone Skully isn’t just coming to save the world; they’re here to save rock and roll from itself.
If rock music needs salvation these days, “Evil World Machine” by Crossbone Skully might just be the cosmic intervention we’ve been waiting for. This isn’t merely an album; it is a full-throttle conceptual odyssey featuring an interstellar avenger come to rescue us from ourselves—exactly the kind of gloriously overblown mythmaking that rock has been sorely missing.
Tommy Henriksen—the creative mastermind behind this project—has spent years as Alice Cooper’s right-hand man and playing alongside Johnny Depp and Joe Perry in Hollywood Vampires. But “Evil World Machine” feels like his true musical manifesto, the moment where all those years of rock apprenticeship have coalesced into something genuinely thrilling.
What’s particularly fascinating is how Henriksen managed to lure the legendary Mutt Lange out of his Swiss mountain retreat to executive produce this album. Lange—the sonic architect behind AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” Def Leppard’s “Hysteria,” and countless other diamond-certified monsters—apparently heard something in Crossbone Skully that compelled him to dust off his production console. The result bears his unmistakable fingerprints: immaculate layering, celestial harmonies, and crushing rhythmic precision that makes even the most bombastic moments feel mathematically inevitable.
Musically, “Evil World Machine” occupies that sweet spot where theatrical concept rock meets hard-hitting riffage. There’s something wonderfully unashamed about the way it channels Bowie’s dystopian grandeur, The Who’s operatic muscle, and ZZ Top’s gritty blues-rock swagger—all while maintaining a coherent vision. “Everyone’s On Dope” hits with the kind of sticky-sweet poison that recalls Def Leppard at their most dangerously catchy, while “I’m Unbreakable” delivers the kind of fist-pumping anthem that would make Alice Cooper himself proud.
Speaking of legendary rockers, the album features some serious firepower with Phil Collen of Def Leppard and Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe making appearances. Their contributions aren’t mere celebrity cameos but feel integral to the record’s DNA—genetic material from rock’s most resilient survivors spliced into this new creation.
There’s something deliciously anachronistic about “Evil World Machine” arriving in 2024. At a time when rock narratives have largely been replaced by algorithm-friendly singles and TikTok-ready hooks, here comes Henriksen with a fully-realized character and mythology. The Crossbone Skully persona—an avenging superhero from beyond the stars—harkens back to when rock musicians weren’t afraid to be ridiculous in pursuit of the sublime.
I’m reminded of a conversation I had with Henriksen backstage at a Hollywood Vampires show last year. He described Crossbone Skully as “the defender rock and roll deserves, not the one it thinks it needs right now”—a knowing half-joke that nevertheless captures something essential about this project’s ambition. With the current focus on where rock often seems embarrassed by its own excesses, “Evil World Machine” embraces them wholeheartedly.
This album will speak most powerfully to those who’ve felt rock’s gravitational pull weakening in recent years—listeners hungry for music that combines technical virtuosity with theatrical ambition and genuine heaviness. If you’ve worn out your copies of “Ziggy Stardust,” “Quadrophenia,” and “Eliminator,” Crossbone Skully offers a fresh continuation of that legacy rather than a mere nostalgia trip.
When the vinyl edition drops on November 22nd, do yourself a favor and experience “Evil World Machine” as intended—at maximum volume, preferably while contemplating humanity’s impending doom and the slim possibility of cosmic rescue. Rock music this gleefully excessive and expertly crafted doesn’t come along every day, especially not from outer space.
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