Opener CEASE AND DESIST begins with growling vocals and chugging guitars, a sure fire sign of what is to follow on this four track offering. A doom like, it is reminiscent of Spirit Caravan in its rawness.

The vulgarly titled SLUDGEFUCKERS sounds heavy just by its name, and doesn’t disappoint. Similar to the opening track with heavy guitar work, its raw vocals play a more active role in this song.

LOST MY WAY is a lot groovier, with the vocals and the guitars combining effectively. It is much more groove orientated than the darker opening tracks and offers a brief respite from the onslaught so far.

Final track REGRESSION comprises ferocious guitars and heavy drumming, making sure the EP ends with a bang. It is similar to the opening two tracks in its heaviness and gives a very good impression of what Bates Motel are all about – heavy, heavy and heavier.

For a 4-track mini-album like this, I feel the tracks need to contain more variety then they do. Bates Motel are excellent at what they do, there’s no doubting that as they come across as similar to Spirit Caravan in style and content.

Any track on ‘Deux Ex Machina’ wouldn’t sound out of place on the Caravan’s ‘Elusive Truth’ album. With doom like, chugging sounds, the guitar work is definitely something to write home about; a highlight of the album. The vocals come into their own and successfully merge with the guitar work on the last two tracks. With powerful everything and an eye for a heavy song or two don’t be surprised to see some more of Bates Motel on the doom scene in the near future.

Deux Ex Macina is self released, for more info, please visit http://www.batesmotel.net/

Review by Jonathan Brown