New Machine Head

ultmetal wrote:

Quote :

Also, I don't see how Machine Head could possibly be following in the footsteps of any band like Trivium considering Machine Head's first album came out when the guys in Trivium were all under the age of 10.

Trivium are the flavor of the day. If a veteran band sees that a younger band is successful and decides to go in a similar direction, they are following that band's direction. It doesn't matter who has been around longer.

I remember reading where Blackfoot changed styles after seeing how successful "Metal Health" was in 1984. Blackfoot had been around since the early 70's, while Quiet Riot were still a fairly new band having started in the late 70's. Regardless of Blackfoot being veterans, they still followed in Quiet Riot's footsteps. Does that make sense?

Yeah, but Trivium's first demo came out in 2003. They were nothing then. Nor was metalcore the flavor of the weak. Machine Head released Through The Ashes of Empires in 2003. That album is an album that stylistically sits right between Burn My Eyes and The More Things Change. Machine Head's shift back to thier earlier style came before metalcore hit it big. If anything, those bands are following in their footsteps.

Also, Robb Flynn has been very candid about the direction of The Burning Red and Supercharger. He admits to folding to label pressure—and the promise of success—to go in a more mainstream direction. The Burning Red is a good album, I think, but the band was on its way out when Supercharger hit, and it shows. Supercharger isn't all that good. There's a few great songs, but it sounds like a band doing something they're unsure of, something that's not natural. So they made the choice to go back to doing what they do best. And at the end of the day, if it took a band like Killswitch Engage to make Machine Head realize they weren't being true to themselves, then so be it. I still don't find much of a parallel between Machine Head and metalcore, though.

As for the lyrical content, I can't fault Flynn for writing that way. He had a pretty terrible upbringing, and his lyrics reflect that. It's easy to scoff at them, but being someone who also had a pretty terrible upbringing, I can honestly say that it's something that's always comes out in your writing. I'm not depressed by anything that happened when I was younger, not anymore, but those feelings still come out in my lyrics and poetry. The whole concept of "emo" becoming an insult these days kind of annoys me. I write lyrics and poetry like that, and I'm not frickin' emo! Haha!

if people do not want to like it for whatever reason, that's cool. there is alot of stuff i do not like either & others don't always understand my reasons for it.

if those impressions are the ones ultmetal got while listening to it, that's fair enough.

mc666 wrote:

if people do not want to like it for whatever reason, that's cool. there is alot of stuff i do not like either & others don't always understand my reasons for it.

if those impressions are the ones ultmetal got while listening to it, that's fair enough.

Well, of course everyone is allowed to dislike something. But what if someone heard Queen's "Under Pressure" after they'd heard Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby," and then they slammed "Under Pressure" for copying Vanilla Ice? Would you not say something? Obviously that's a bit extreme for an example, but I'm not trying to change Ult's opinion on liking it or not, I'm just trying to add perspective.

Not a problem Eyesore. Appreciate your opinion. Made me rethink my
"metalcore" comment. I'm gonna give a real close listen again tomorrow.

ultmetal wrote:

Not a problem Eyesore. Appreciate your opinion. Made me rethink my
"metalcore" comment. I'm gonna give a real close listen again tomorrow.

A lot of people just don't seem to grasp what Machine Head is. They've always been called a thrash band by people. It's never been true. They have plenty of thrash moments, and even a few songs, but they've never been thrash. Therefore a lot of people are always waiting for something they're not going to get, and they find themselves disappointed.

I'm not so sure your opinion will change on liking it, though.

Lets see if this review is more to your liking. I listened to the CD again this morning and reworked the review while I was listening to it.

Quote :

After 1994's "Burn My Eyes", I quickly lost interest in Machine Head as they changed styles and went into a musical direction that didn't interest me. Rob Flynn openly admits that on "The Burning Red" and "Supercharger" that he had given into label pressure and the promise of success to release more mainstream, modern music. With little commercial success following, Flynn announced that the band was going to return to "what we do best". He was even quoted as saying that "The Blackening" would be Machine Head's "Master of Puppets". The word spread quickly over the internet that Machine Head were moving away from the nu-metal crap, back to a more aggressive, epic, thrash-influenced metal sound. Pretty much all the early buzz on "The Blackening" was positive. Blabbermouth gushed over the recording calling it "the best all-out metal recording of 2007." (Of course, I expect no less from them since this is a Roadrunner Records release.) One email I received stated, "The Blackening...is one of the best metal albums of the 21st Century, as good as the latest Overkill albums and better than the latest Megadeth, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest albums. They have completely abondened their nu-metal influences and have gone back to their thrash metal roots by adding guitar solos and good Slayer/Metallica/Vio-Lence esque riffs." My own Heart of Metal board had several posts touting "The Blackening". I finally gave into the hype and decided to check it out for myself. Well, as is to be expected, only some of the buzz is true. While there are some moves into thrash metal, and the songs are of epic length, averaging about eight minutes long, "The Blackening" is still modern metal with shouted, monotonous vocals or the occasional clean vocal. Basically, "The Blackening" is all about being angry and pissed off, cramming as many expletives into one song as humanly possible and griping about the war in Iraq, the Bush administration and life in general. "Slanderous" for instance has the line, “I love you, why do I hate my father. I hate you, why do I hate myself”. At one point Rob even whispers, "I hate myself."

The music indeed is less 'nu' and much closer to real heavy metal. Rob Flynn seems to be treading similar ground as current flavor-of-the-month bands like Trivium and Lamb of God, albeit with a touch of Killswitch Engage and Metallica thrown in for good measure. The album starts off with a ten minute epic number that indeed does recall Metallica's "Master of Puppets" at times, but is essentially ruined by the screaming, monotonous vocals. The guitar solos and the clean guitar intro are quite nice in this song. As well, "Beautiful Morning" manages to balance on a fence between modern metal and neo-thrash. This song starts off with Rob shouting "F**k you all!" before breaking into a speedy thrash lick that gives way to a plodding modern metal riff that forms the basis for the majority of the song. "Slanderous" has a smoking guitar lead, as do several other songs. "Wolves" has a great thrash metal break in the middle of the song. However, for the most part the riffs on this song and the majority of the album are just more of the downtuned, chugga chugga, plodding variety. There are some Pantera-ish groove-type riffs peppered throughout the disc as well. I found myself really enjoying "A Farwell to Arms". The song is heavy, features a sweet guitar solo, has a good flow to it and competes with the album opener as the best song on the CD. So I guess I have mixed emotions about this album. It has some parts I enjoy, and even a couple songs that I think kick butt. "The Blackening" is a decent modern metal album and does mark a return to the heavier sounds of their early days, but I also don't see this as being the best metal recording of 2007.

Good stuff!

Somebody needs a diaper change....

SAXON1500 wrote:

Somebody needs a diaper change....

did you make poo on yourself again?

SAXON1500 wrote:

Somebody needs a diaper change....

What does this mean?

the blackening is amazing!

it is worth buying it just for the opening riff of clenching the fists of dissent and thats only the first song!

I have the full review of this up on NLTM now.

ult

its a good review i had a quick look

Wow this thread is old!! I was going to start a new one but since this is here i'll just use it. Now I hate when Roadrunner puts out re-releases especially when their only like months apart from a new release but this one seems pretty cool, and its been out for over a year so I wont complain too much.

The UK branch of Roadrunner Records has set an October 27 release date for MACHINE HEAD's "The Blackening" (2CD & DVD 2008 Special Edition).

The complete track listing is as follows:

"The Blackening":

01. Clenching The Fists of Dissent
02. Beautiful Mourning
03. Aesthetics Of Hate
04. Now I Lay Thee Down
05. Slanderous
06. Halo
07. Wolves
08. A Farewell To Arms

Bonus CD (B-sides/Rarities 1994-2008):

01. Hallowed Be Thy Name (IRON MAIDEN cover)
02. Alan's On Fire (POISON IDEA cover)
03. Negative Creep (NIRVANA cover)
04. Seasons Wither
05. My Misery
06. House Of Suffering (BAD BRAINS cover)
07. The Possibility Of Life's Destruction (DISCHARGE cover)
08. Ten Ton Hammer (Extended Original Mix)
09. Hole In The Sky (BLACK SABBATH cover)
10. Colors (ICE-T cover)
11. Hard Times (live) (CRO-MAGS cover)
12. Halo (I Want Your Soul) demo)
13. Aesthetics Of Hate (Thrash-terpiece) (demo)

Bonus DVD:

Live performances:

01. Clenching The Fists Of Dissent (With Full Force 2008)
02. Now I Lay Thee Down (With Full Force 2008)
03. Halo (With Full Force 2008)
04. Aesthetics Of Hate (Rock In Rio 2008)
05. Davidian (Rock In Rio 2008)
06. Imperium (Download 2007)
07. Old (Download 2007)
08. A Thousand Lies (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
09. The Rage To Overcome (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
10. Death Church (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
11. Blood For Blood (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)

Uncensored & Unedited Music Videos:

01. Halo
02. Now I Lay Thee Down
03. Aesthetics Of Hate

Plus a "Making Of...." feature for each video

Dammit! Well, not dammit, I guess, since I haven't bought The Blackening yet because I anticipated this reissue. But the reason I haven't bought it yet is because the band had said on their website while recording the album that they were "recording b-sides" at one point. What b-sides? The Maiden cover? The Metallica cover (which isn't even on this, apparently)? All the other tracks have been released before, except the "Aesthetics of Hate" and "Halo" demos. Either way, it'll be cool to have them all on one CD. Odd that "Seasons Wither" is on here since it was on the US issue of Through The Ashes of Empires.

Anyway, a cool reissue, no doubt; I just expected some new unreleased tunes. The "Alan's on Fire" cover is sick! As is the live version of "Hard Times."

Cool,the re-issue looks good having that bonus cd.Glad I havent picked up the original yet.

i'll just download the cover tracks i don't already have. i'm not buying another copy of the album.

I dont have or have heard any of those bonus songs so i'll be picking it up. Funny thing is I bought this album when it came out listened to the first song and it was so awesome I never really listened to the rest of this cd cause I would just keep going back to the first song. lol How sad is that?

"Colors" is a rap song.

DOH! I might reconsider

you get a fair bit of stuff mon here. its just weird though as there was already a c and dvd one but i guess they have got more tracks now

good thing I didn't buy it the first time, just borrowed it from a friend. It wasn't good enough to buy...but if it's a good price I'll buy it for the bonus material.

sam wrote:

good thing I didn't buy it the first time, just borrowed it from a friend. It wasn't good enough to buy...

WHAT?

i got it as a present for my birthday the day after it came out. i never paid for it either

Ok now why is the US getting screwed on this one? The UK version has 2 cds and a dvd we only get 1 cd with 2 bonus tracks and a dvd. What crap! damn you Roadrunner!!

Roadrunner Records has revealed the details of the U.S. version of the special edition of "The Blackening", MACHINE HEAD's Grammy-nominated masterwork, which is due on October 28, 2008.

"The Blackening Special Edition" is two-disc CD/DVD set that will feature an assortment of extras, including rare bonus tracks such as covers of IRON MAIDEN's "Hallowed Be Thy Name", over an hour of live performance footage from With Full Force, Download and Rock in Rio festivals, three uncensored music videos for "Aesthetics of Hate", "Now I Lay Thee Down" and "Halo", a "making-of" featurette on each video, "The Making of The Blackening" and expanded artwork. There's also what many hardcore fans have been rabidly waiting for: four never-before-seen performances of MACHINE HEAD celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut album, "Burn My Eyes", captured in Philadelphia in 2004. This special edition is a must have for any fan of this Bay Area band that is steadily carving out "legendary status" for itself within the metal scene.


"The Blackening" U.S. Special Edition 2-Disc CD/DVD

CD - The Blackening + Bonus Tracks

01. Clenching The Fists of Dissent
02. Beautiful Mourning
03. Aesthetics Of Hate
04. Now I Lay Thee Down
05. Slanderous
06. Halo
07. Wolves
08. A Farewell To Arms
09. Hallowed Be Thy Name [IRON MAIDEN cover] *
10. Battery [METALLICA cover] *

* Bonus Track

DVD - Live Performances & Videos

Live performances:

* Clenching The Fists Of Dissent (With Full Force 2008)
* Now I Lay Thee Down (With Full Force 2008)
* Halo (With Full Force 2008)
* Aesthetics Of Hate (Rock In Rio 2008)
* Davidian (Rock In Rio 2008)
* Imperium (Download 2007)
* Old (Download 2007)
* A Thousand Lies (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
* The Rage To Overcome (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
* Death Church (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)
* Blood For Blood (Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004)

Uncensored & Unedited Music Videos:

* Halo
* Now I Lay Thee Down
* Aesthetics Of Hate
* The Making of Halo
* The Making of Now I Lay Thee Down
* The Making of Aesthetics Of Hate
* The Making of The Blackening