After the creative outpouring that led to the critically acclaimed Disconnect EP, the complexities of life caused Vain Machine to engage in an imposed hiatus for much of 2021. Vain Machine songwriter and frontman Omar Quiñones triumphantly returns to the fray with a new drummer, news of a new album, and Subterfuge – a collaboration with Deathboy’s Scott Lamb.

The track is sure to find favour with fans of industrial rock acts like Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, and Tool, though it doesn’t confine itself to the boundaries of the genre. The primarily electronic core of the song pulsates with an industrial aesthetic, while the melody possesses a rhythm that wouldn’t seem out of place in classic trip-hop. Scott’s vocals and lyrics provide an air of menace and danger, bouncing off the hypnotic, suspenseful synths to devastating effect.

Reveals Omar, “After Disconnect, I had already started working on new material for the next album. My focus was to explore out of my comfort zone. I knew that the next album had to be different and needed to sound unlike what I had previously released. When I finished the music for Subterfuge, I was under extreme stress, dealing with anxiety and depression, resulting in writer's block. I was at a dead stop.

“I thought about my options and instinctively knew who would be perfect to help me complete the track. Around 2001, I was introduced by my spouse to a band called Deathboy. I automatically fell in love with Music To Crash Cars To and purchased the album. This album was a permanent fixture in my CD player and iPod for months. At one point, Scott and I spoke over the phone, talking about different writing methods.

“It wasn’t until 2019 that we reconnected while playing London's Slimelight for the Beat:Cancer Festival. Our casual run-in that day was a good experience and connecting with Scott afterwards, he had not remembered our conversation from almost 20 years ago. That was when I shared the track with him to see if he was interested in taking the task of writing the lyrics and singing the vocals on Subterfuge.

“This song was transformed! Scott had landed his vocals and sent them to me. I knew it would work. Unfortunately, the track sat for several months with no traction due to other obligations.”

Fate was to play Omar another favourable card, however. “In late 2021, I connected with another talented soul, Bobby Stevens, who soon became Vain Machine’s official drummer.

“I knew he had talent I required to add a missing element to the track. I had become obsessed with trying to achieve the perfect mix, spending many hours only to find that my hearing had become affected by constant ear fatigue. Again, the task of completing the track took time.”

In March 2022, Vain Machine resumed live performances, playing shows with LA electronic outfit, BlakLight.

“We tested to see how the audience would react to a song so different from the others, receiving extremely positive feedback, so I knew we had something special, so I had to move quickly,” discloses Omar. “Subterfuge is a small glimpse of what to expect from the next album, taking on the roots of the AnalogueTrash’s ‘No Boundaries, No Scenes’ motto.”

Omar highlights what Scott and Bobby have brought to Subterfuge: “I thank them both for their talent in giving life to this track. They ignited a spark to what can be achieved when working from distant parts of the world. Be on the lookout for the new album release, Transmute.”