REVIEWS:
Post your comments about Machine Head
(reviewed by Alex Wilson)
Don't believe the hype, the 'sell-out' bullshit, or the name-calling. This is a solid album from a band that admirably pushed itself out of its comfort zone. With The Burning Red, Machine Head have pretty much abandoned their thrash influences and have whole-heartedly embraced rhythmic alt-metal. In fact, when you look at it that way, this album could be considered their Load, but thankfully The Burning Red is a far more invigorating and focused outing. It does have a major flaw, but onto that later…
The good news is that Machine Head are still one of the heaviest bands around. The riffs are fuzzy and furious and the drums are pounding. Robb Flynn's harsh bellow is still intact, but it's also great to hear that Flynn has developed a better sense of melody, and his vastly improved clean vocals really help to take songs like "Nothing Left" and "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears" to new heights. The band is still tight as ever, but rather than delivering another slab of clinical pseudo-thrash, they have devoted this album to the groove instead. In a way, this is a logical step for Machine Head, as they have always been a very rhythm-orientated band.
This approach yields some killer tracks, too. To put it simply, the first side of the album is absolutely fantastic. "Desire To Fire" bursts out of the gate with a great blend of menacing funk and guitar riffage. This song also marks the first use of rapping on a Machine Head record, and despite all the flak that Robb Flynn copped for this decision, I can honestly say that he is actually a pretty decent rapper. His naturally low voice ensures he never wanders in 'whining white boy' territory ala Papa Roach. Up next is "Nothing Left," a great rocker with interesting rhythmic and dynamic changes, and "Silver," a surprisingly melodic little tune, which boasts a great chorus and vocal hook. Closing out the first side is the obligatory 'hit, "From This Day." It has a truly evil guitar lick that manages to meld Slayer with funk-metal. Simple guitars grind over a hip-hop influenced arrangement and Flynn delivers what is probably the catchiest Machine Head chorus yet, thanks to his solid vocal work. In fact, "From This Day" is an effective summary of the album. Sure, it's not a showstopper like "Old" or "Block," but it's a solid, memorable track. Machine Head took a chance and it paid off.
Unfortunately, Side Two is not nearly as great as the first. It has a few good riffs and a few solid songs (be sure to check out the exciting alt-metal take on "Message In A Bottle!") but it shows that Flynn had pulled all his compositional tricks out on the first half. The band still rocks admirably and with conviction, but they can't really make an impact without a set of good songs. There is one remaining highlight, though. The slow-burning title track closes out the record with melody and relative subtlety.
If Machine Head had managed to deliver a full album of solid songwriting, this album could probably be worth an easy 8, maybe even 9. It pisses me off that the album begins to wear thin halfway through, because the first half is just so great. It's definitely not the abomination it's often made out to be, but the second half lets it down. I'll give it a 7, but even that is somewhat shaky. Then again, if Machine Head is your thing and you have an open mind, there is plenty to like on this album.
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