The Machine Elves are what happens when punk shoves its tongue down the throat of glam rock while it simultaneously cops a feel on the rear of Broadway.
Powered by an enigmatic frontman who proves why he’s in the musical business and sexy guitar work, the Brooklyn, New York hybrid rock band has steering potential.
At the start of the track, the simple, but steady drum work of Tommy Mitchell is accompanied by consistent bass from Howie Blatz. Frontman Joey Calveri, who some may recognize from his appearances in the Broadway version of “Rock of Ages,” originally sounds a bit like Bouncing Souls leader singer Greg Attonito. At first, the track sounds like a modern day “Lamar Vannoy.” The fast, choppy lyrics in the verses are almost rap-like. They aren’t indicative of his vocal appeal. At times it feels as if the lines within the verses are too long.
These hiccups aren’t enough to lose this musical game of chess however. The slower hook and several instances where Calveri plays with his range reclaim the track. This kid has chops. The same thing can be said for the overall synergy of the band. While the guitars of Lou La Rocco and Frank Fasano stand out the most, the bass and drums fill out the sound nicely. There aren’t any weak links here.
With a fun and charismatic appeal, The Machine Elves will reclaim the ears of anyone who misses Whitesnake and the Darkness. Howling vocals, more than competent musicianship and witty if sometimes uneven lyrics work more than they falter.
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
The Machine Elves are what happens when punk shoves its tongue down the throat of glam rock while it simultaneously cops a feel on the rear of Broadway.
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