"MACHINA/the machines of God" is not the saving grace that Smashing Pumpkins [ tickets ] fans have been hoping for. There are two main problems: Most of the music is over-produced, and Billy Corgan still thinks he's one of rock's great profound thinkers--listen to the nearly 10-minute stream-of-consciousness track, "Glass and the Ghost Children." "MACHINA" aims to legitimize the band as a major rock player but merely demonstrates what many have suspected: This is the end of Smashing Pumpkins.

The album starts out with a bang on the much-heralded radio buzz clip, ''The Everlasting Gaze,'' and then dips into a techno track masquerading as a rock song on ''Raindrops + Sunshowers.'' Corgan's notion of techno-rock emerged on the band's previous release ''Adore,'' and although that album flopped, he still enjoys experimenting with the idea. ''Raindrops + Sunshowers,'' ''The Sacred and the Profane'' and ''Wound'' all feature driving breakbeats orchestrated by the talented Jimmy Chamberlain but, in keeping with techno's main flaw, they lack any real passion. Keyboards are used incessantly throughout the record, along with fuzz guitar progressions and whiny lead vocals; yes, the band has been using keys for years, but the sound still brings back horrific memories of A-ha and Europe.

All is not lost, though. The album's most promising song, ''Stand Inside Your Love,'' shows the Pumpkins' strengths, with Corgan whispering on verses and wailing on choruses. ''Heavy Metal Machine,'' Corgan's ode to himself, has its compelling, thick and swampy rock moments. There's even an interesting country-western deviation near the record's end on ''With Every Light.''

However, it's still difficult to take this band seriously. Corgan's poetic voice might read like a postmodern Walt Whitman on paper, but when heard through his multi-tracked microphone, he comes across as insincere. This only serves to hammer home the reality that he's not a Bob Dylan or a Jim Morrison. If anything, he's a Willy Loman, desperately trying to sell a product that fewer and fewer customers are interested in.

Jack Morris is music editor of boston.citysearch.com.