Love Machine – In Time

Released on January 28th 2026, through the Italian label Underground Symphony, In Time is the sixth studio album by the historic Milanese heavy metal and hard rock band Love Machine. If you’re just discovering Love Machine, here is what you need to know: Love Machine is one of the most historic, prolific and a pillar band on the Italian hard rock and heavy metal scene.

Founded in Milano back in 1988, the sextet has forged a powerful sound over thirty-five years. The group currently consists of Rob Della Frera on vocals (ex. Raising Fear and Deadline), Andrew Dal Zio on drums (ex. Sigma), Frank Raider (Raising Fear and Sigma), Luca Pivetti on guitars, Yako Martini on bass, and Lele Triton on keyboards (ex. Crimson Dawn, Evil Bards, Flegias, Chronomaster Project, Towers of Edom, Highlord, Myriad Lights, Egart and Crystal Empire).

In Time consists of eleven (including an ambitious multi-part saga “The Tale – Pt. I”, “The Story – Pt. II” and “The Truth – Pt. III”, heavy and melodic hard rock tracks, succesfully blending classic hard rock with German-style heavy metal influences and a strong focus on melody and hooks. The record as a whole is a very solid and well-crafted effort, perfectly balancing the band’s rich classic metal roots with a modern and dynamic sound.

The tracklist itself is cohesive, with the songs fitting seamlessly together – making the entire album feel as an unified and very homogeneous listening experience. Pretty much all of the compositions are strong; where this veteran cult band once again prove that they’re highly skilled and seasoned at structuring their tracks.

Key track(s) in my opinion are; the album’s titular single, “In Time” (listen/watch below). The track delivers a classic hard-and-heavy punch while maintaining modern melodic metal aesthetics. I particularly enjoyed the driving rhythm section, powered by Yako Martini on bass and Andrew Dal Zio on drums, laying the foundation by building a lush sonic landscape enriched by Lele Mr. Triton’s keys, giving the song an expansive and symphonic feel. Another stand-out song is the one named “The Blind Man” – serving as a core single from the project and arguably the strongest track on the album. The song is different to its predecessors, as this is the song where the guys step away from pure speed to deliver a much more atmospheric and emotionally heavy and homogeneous listening experience. Meanwhile, if you listen to classics like Whitesnake, Europe, Saxon, Gotthard or Rainbow, you will appreciate the arena-rock hooks embedded in the heavy metal framework of tracks like the aforementioned “The Story – Pt. II” or “In Time”.

The sound on In Time is balanced and traditional, as the record boasts a modern, varied, yet a high-impact sonic punch. However, it deliberately retains an organic, nostalgic ‘class metal’ feel reminiscent of classic heavy metal and AOR. Now to the cover art – visually channeling themes of existentialism, passing time and cosmic structure, directly linking to tracks like “The Cube’s Squaring” and “In Time”. The center of the splendid and visually impressive artwork features a prominent, glowing clockwork/cosmic alignment or portal configuration, framing the band’s logo in a stark, heavily stylized fantasy metal font.

In summation; a long period of resting & inactivity, with inevitable line-up changes, pauses for reflection, and a slow pace of releases, but the guys from Love Machine never gave up! Thus, In Time marks a really nice and listenable old-school opus, especially recommended for devout fans of classic 1980s and 1990s melodic heavy metal, hard rock, and glam-tinged AOR.

In Time is available as a physical digi-CD and across major digital streaming services. For additional information on the sixth studio effort from this Milanese six piece go to their bandcamp.