Clear Share All Channels

Show Queue

ReverbNation Channels

Select a Music Channel to Get Started

Global Chart Toppers Local Chart Toppers Trending Artists Alt/Rock/Indie Electro/Pop/Dance HipHop/Rap/R&B Featured Artists My Favorites Custom Channel

Show Queue

12:123

Not listening to anything?

Try one of the ReverbNation Channels

Wat Rabbit Hole Go deeper
What's This?

Ape Machine

Rank #17 Portland, OR Rock / Rock / Hard Rock

All Photos

About

Members: Caleb Heinze - Vocals; Ian Watts - Guitar; Brian True - Bass; Monte Fuller - Drums

Sounds Like: Black Sabbath, Deep Purple (1968-1976), Thin Lizzy, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin Official

Bio: The name APE MACHINE is a nod to the days of reel-to-reel magnetic tape audio recording; a fitting moniker for the heavy-hitting quartet as the band plays through vintage tube amplifiers and lays down its songs using exclusively throwback quality studio equipment. With a heady mix of animal aggr... See Full Bio

More Info

Status

: ♫ Today: San Diego, CA - May 1 at The Griffin http://t.co/NFtdGmW1Sn

Press

“Imaginative song writing in stoner rock I have found isn’t rare but nor is it common, and, well, Ape Machine have created a highly interesting record with curves and height and imagination that it has captured my attention to all their future endeavours. ”

— Gaia, The Number Of The Blog

“it’s songs like “Hold Your Tongue,” “Can’t Cure Deceit,” “Death of the Captain,” and “Black Night” that flex a wicked Sabbath muscle and propel Ape Machine into the stoner realm on the wings of bell bottoms and dirty blues.”

— Jeff, Broken Beard

“Blending equal parts rock 'n' roll, blues, stoner rock and psychedelia, Ape Machine is a band whose heart is steeped in the rich musical history of the late '60s and '70s. That doesn't mean they're some kind of hippie dippy throwback band. Ape Machine delivers their material with heavy metal muscle and all of their arrangements are sharpened by Ian Watts' ballsy guitar work.”

— Carlos Ramirez, Noisecreep

“War To Head is like an album of nothing but deep cuts that were meant to wear out your tapes and records. I cannot give the album or Ape Machine higher praise. If there was a way to wear out an MP3 file into nothing, I would have done it already. Buy this album, put on some headphones, sit in the dark, and then lose yourself in one of the best albums of the year.”

— Keith Anderson, The NewReview

“Holy fuck! If you people like big, juicy, stoner rock riffage, you need to head to the end of this post right quick and play “Hold Your Tongue” from Portland, Oregon’s Ape Machine.”

— Chris Harris, Gun Shy Assassin

“Ape Machine has the rare distinction of knowing how to write an actual fucking song. Even rarer, this album remains solid from beginning to end. I unabashedly love this fucking album, and can’t wait to hear more from this band. Ape Machine fucking rules.”

— Mason, Disposable Underground

“It isn’t often that an album will make my top 10 list for the year when I haven’t even reviewed it. But This House Has Been Condemned has. And for good reason. This album is a monster of retro-fueled, bell-bottomed, Zep-rock.”

— Racer, The Ripple Effect Blog

“Intense melodies and hard driving riffs, combined with the hunting, screaming, wailing and moaning voice of singer Caleb Heinze gives the listener an ‘it’s all happening’ feeling. Transported to the seventies and into an outfit comprised of wide corduroy pants and a ditto colorful blouse we drift along the groovy set of eight songs. The rolling riffs build towards great tasting solos and incredible sound explosions. This is warm blues and soulful music like the classics used to make. Give those monkeys another banana!”

— Stoner Hive

“Ape Machine is serious ass kicking rock and roll. This is the sound of corduroy bell bottoms, chukka boots, and guitars...lots and lots of guitars; all running on Orange amps cranked up to twenty. I'll be the first to admit, I was cynical about how good this band actually could be. Then I heard just how these guys rock and it made me run out and buy a 1973 Camaro, a jean jacket, and a 8 track tape player just so I could play program one (kids, go ask your parents) of This House Has Been Condemned, and taking copious amounts of Robert Plant's Miracle Long Hair and Chest Hair Grow (tm). Fuck yeah! This is rock and roll and it RAWKS!! ”

— PAUL , POP! Stereo

“Melody, cutting riffs and a whole lotta improvisation make this a band you really want to see live.”

— JIM CARNES, Sacramento Bee

“Ape Machine moved through its set with a casual ease, swinging between different songs and jams flawlessly and with little pause or interruption. Playing material off their debut album, This House Has Been Condemned, Ape Machine did not seem like the new, rising band that it is. On tracks like “All Times” and “Monte Malady” (also released as promo tracks), they demonstrated a cohesion that brought the ecclesiastic guitars, pounding bass, thunderous drumming, and soaring vocals into one unified front that nearly blew out the windows of the Ash Street Saloon.”

— SAM SANBORN, Oregon Music News

“It's no profound observation to call Ape Machine a throwback. The Portland five-piece indulges in smoking licks and rugged riffage learnt from the most bluesiest of stoner psych, while the overdramatic reach of singer Caleb Heinze was forged from the mythological fires of classic rock. The self-released debut This House Has Been Condemned is a flat-out juggernaut, seeming to fell whole forests and cities in its path. Such monster rock can come off silly these days, but Ape Machine answers its cartoonish name with a heartfelt sound. Like Earl Greyhound and some of Jack White's ventures, the band resurrects the bluster of yesteryear's rock gods with no apologies.”

— DOUG WALLEN, Seattle Weekly

“Lots of bands dig up classic rock influences and fuse them with modern rock leanings, but Portland’s Ape Machine—an almost-supergroup featuring members of Portland’s Minmae and Houston’s Riverfenix/Fenix TX—is willing to slide all the way into the past. The quintet’s debut disc, This House Has Been Condemned, points to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as sonic influences, and it’s relentless in its quest for recapturing a huge, heavy sound that most modern rock acts can’t touch. Frontman Caleb Heinze is a theatrical and showy singer in the Robert Plant mold, and dual guitarists Ian Watts and Jimi Miller do a fine job of re-creating the heaviest moments of early ’70s arena rock. If the live show is half as amped up as the record, these guys could build a nice solid fan base out of Northwesterners isolated by an increasingly twee music scene.”

— Willamette Week

“Who says classic rock is dead? (Actually, I say it all the time.) But bands like Ape Machine effortlessly prove the contrary, as on their brand-new debut album This House Has Been Condemned. It's a brash slab of boogie, with nearly every riff-heavy tune stretching far past the five-minute mark—and for good reason: Once you're locked into a stone-cold groove, man, there's no rush to jump right out of it. Recalling in equal parts Sabbath, Blue Cheer, and your mustachioed dirtbag cousin's shag-carpeted van, the bloozy guitars of Ape Machine pretty much insist you cut the sleeves off your favorite jean jacket, roll up a few doobies on the album cover, and party at the moon tower 'til dawn.”

— NED LANNAMANN, The Murcury

All Press

Recent Blogs

New
Nov 29, 2009
We are new [more]

All Blogs

Songs

Play All | Queue All | Share All

Hold Your Tongue

Share Buy
Can't Cure Deceit

Share Buy
All Times

Share Buy

All Songs

Videos

Ape Machine - Death Of The Captain - Live at Oak St. Speakeasy Eugene, OR

All Videos

Shows

Full-Screen View »

Fri
May 31

Rare Guitar
Münster, NW, DE | 6:00pm
Rare Guitar
Münster, NW, DE
Fri May 31 6:00pm
Details

Rock!
Sat
Jun 1

Freak Valley Festival
Netphen, NW, DE | 12:00pm
Freak Valley Festival
Netphen, NW, DE
Sat Jun 01 12:00pm
Sun
Jun 2

Antwerp Music City
Antwerp, BE | 8:00pm
Antwerp Music City
Antwerp, BE
Sun Jun 02 8:00pm
Details

Rock!
Tue
Jun 4

Les Combustibles
Paris, FR | 8:00pm
Les Combustibles
Paris, FR
Tue Jun 04 8:00pm
Details

Rock!
Wed
Jun 5

Rockbar Leuven
Leuven, BE | 8:00pm
Rockbar Leuven
Leuven, BE
Wed Jun 05 8:00pm
- Show Details
- Tickets
Details

Rock!