Drawing us in with a bold and industrial guitar soundscape, Ping Machines open Down to the Others with a sense of timelessness and instrumental mastery. The opus expands with psychedelic nuance and ferocity as we are taken on a somewhat cerebral and metaphorical journey.
There is no doubt that Down to the Others is stadium-ready in its anthemic energy. We appreciate the high emotional quotient of the choruses and the high octane frequency that transmutes with the track.
The guitar performances are out of this world – intricate, boundless and pulsating. The vocal delivery from Ryps is full of charisma and pizazz. We connect with the meditative middle eight with a more minimalist and melodic core. The emotion of the instrumental here is sublime, peaceful and invites notions of introspection. Needless to say, the rebuild is epic, and we are enthralled by the finale.
The essence of the song portrays a bleak and nihilistic view of human ambition and belief. The prose and message argue that despite striving to be special, successful or spiritually saved, people remain anonymous, and are driven by instinct – trapped in a ruthless system.
It comments on how competition is violent, whilst grace and divine rescue are an illusion, and religion offers no escape from suffering, so in the end everyone falls back “down with the others”, equalized by a world that resembles hell itself. The laughs at the end are ferocious and truly feel like a cosmic joke – and this is why we love the song. It’s raw, cerebral and taps into the idea of cosmic irrelevance. Genius, and actually highly spiritual in that way!
We learn that Ping Machines is a five-piece rock band from the village of Muotathal in central Switzerland, formed in 2009 and consisting of Pat Dollinger (drums), Marc Monnin and Fabian Mettler (guitars), Alex Schrutt (bass), and Benissa Schmidig (vocals). For this song, vocals are performed by Ryps.
We have added Down to the Others to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream the entirety of Ping Machines‘ album, Baby.