The renegades push any movement forward. Like Machines break rock down to its purest elements only to recombine and re-forge those elements over a future-facing flame. The riffs rage, the beats punch, and the choruses stick, while the keyboards and synths cast a cinematic shadow over this combustible core. After racking up millions of streams and views and receiving acclaim from RIFF and Alternative Press who touted them among, “10 Modern Rock Bands That Prove The Genre Is Far From Dead,” the Atlanta-based duo—Andrew Evans [vocals, guitar] and Tanner Hendon [bass, drums]—challenge themselves and rock on their 2021 independent EP, Supervillain.

“We wanted this to be different from not only what we’ve previously done, but everything else we’re hearing,” states Andrew. “We’re expanding and following our instincts.”

“We definitely challenged ourselves,” agrees Tanner. “You can hear a wider base of influences.

The pair of lifelong friends first met in their hometown of Atlanta, GA during elementary school, simultaneously developing a passion for hard rock, jamming together, and launching Like Machines in 2019. They shared stages with everyone from Clutch, Avatar, Pop Evil, Crobot, ’68, Hero The Band, and Fozzy in addition to hitting the high seas on the Chris Jericho Cruise. 2020’s Hear Freedom Ring EP boasted the breakout single “Kaiser” and “Hear Freedom Ring”. Alternative Press raved, “If you think rock music is dead, listen to their 2020 EP, Hear Freedom Ring, and come back to us.” Throughout 2020, they recorded remotely with legendary producer Bob Marlette [Shinedown, Black Sabbath, Rob Zombie, Seether]. This time around, they prominently infused electronic drums, keyboards, and synths, falling under the unexpected inspiration of Dua Lipa and Post Malone.

“When we were pulling in ideas, we would listen to artists who aren’t in our genre at all,” explains Tanner. “We were taking inspiration from video game sounds too. We really expanded the palette.”

“Bob was like the head coach and lead challenger,” adds Andrew. “He pushed us to question ourselves.”

That’s exactly what they did with the new music. On “Blink,” head-nodding guitar glides through warbling synths towards a sweeping and soaring refrain drenched in neon keys.

“It’s about how extremely quickly time moves, and you can’t stop it,” reveals Andrew. “Even though it seems like things are moving slowly, they don’t always. You blink, and it’s gone. Although, the song feels more uplifting for us.”

Then, there’s “Come and Get It.” The bass-y keys and thumping drums seesaw between a gang vocal call-and-response anchored by another hummable riff. It culminates on one of their biggest and boldest hooks, “For you, I’ll be here waiting. Come and get it.”

“It’s about how the music industry had basically shut down,” the front man elaborates. “In my brain, I was visually thinking that when everything comes back we’re going to get spit out the other side and we’ll still be here. It’s a confidence booster to me.”

Then, there’s “The Maker.” A groan of distortion curls into a hard-hitting heavy riff before Andrew paints a dark picture of corporate control.

“It’s got a conspiracy theory vibe,” Tanner observes. “There are all of these powerful governments and companies who manipulate and control everything in their favor—similar to a godlike figure. Meanwhile, we’re the plebians doing all of the hard labor down here on planet earth.”

In the end, Like Machines recharge rock on Supervillain.

“We continued to dig deeper on this body of work,” Tanner leaves off. “To me, Supervillain is not necessarily negative. It’s more of a reminder to be positive, confident, and cool. Be a badass. That’s how rock music should make you feel.”