Machine on a Break balances modern metal and pop melodrama on latest single, 'How I Say Goodnight'

Canberra-based metal empress, Machine on a Break returns with a soaring new single in ‘How I Say Goodnight’, coming fresh off the back of a support show with industry heavyweights, Patient Sixty-Seven.

Powerful, and hard-hitting, the new single highlights the importance of reassuring others of safety when struggling through mental health issues.

“How I Say Goodnight is ultimately about reassuring the people close to me that, despite how I might be feeling, I am safe. As someone who has struggled with mental health challenges for as long as I can remember, I have learned this is important to the people around me.” - Machine on a Break

Dark, cinematic, and emotionally charged, ‘How I Say Goodnight’ sees Machine on a Break thread the needle between modern metal heft and theatrical pop melodrama. Thick, down-tuned guitars grind beneath glossy vocal lines that refuse to fall into the expected gutturals—instead, she leans into operatic strength, rising and falling with control and intent. It’s a track that flirts with the gothic allure of Lacuna Coil and channels the moody grandeur of early Evanescence, but Machine on a Break carves her own identity, carrying the full sonic weight solo. There’s muscle here, but also atmosphere—a moody, midnight kind of tension that lingers long after the final chorus.

Machine on a Break has announced a live single launch show at The Baso in Canberra on May 16 alongside Great White Dogs, Aiffel and Social Strangers.

After being named as a Grand Finalist (top 8) in the Listen Up Songwriting Prize in 2022, Machine on a Break went on to support Wicked Things and Krave, then moving to Canberra, where she played Festival 15 in 2024. Following this, she went on to play at Sydney Olympic Park as pre-show entertainment for Parkway Drive fans on September 21st, and a Yours and Owls free party in October 2024. In 2025 you can catch her supporting I See Stars on the Newcastle leg of their Australian Tour, as well as opening for Perth metalcore badasses Patient Sixty-Seven on the Canberra leg of their AUS tour.

‘How I Say Goodnight’ is available on all major online streaming services.