Machine Head
 Machine Head consisted of vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn (ex-Violence/Forbidden), guitarist Logan Mader, bassist Adam Duce, and drummer Tony Costanza, who was replaced by Chris Kontos, who was also replaced by ex-Sacred Reich drummer Dave McClain who has bee with the band since in 1996. For some reason, when this band first came onto the scene, the and downplayed Flynn's involvement with Violence and tried to distance themselves from the thrash legends. Not sure what the point was in that, as it was one of the interest points for me.

In His Time Machine Head - Burn My Eyes (Roadrunner) 1994

1. "Davidian" (4:56)
2. "Old" (4:06)
3. "A Thousand Lies" (6:14)
4. "None But My Own" (6:15)
5. "The Rage to Overcome" (4:47)
6. "Death Church" (6:34)
7. "A Nation on Fire" (5:34)
8. "Blood for Blood" (3:40)
9. "I'm Your God Now" (5:51)
10. "Real Eyes. Realize. Real Lies" (2:45)
11. "Block" (4:59)

I saw Machine Head opening for Megadeth on their "Risk" tour. I was impressed by Machine Head's aggression, speed and chops. However, I avoided buying any of their CDs due to the 'metalcore' and 'alternative metal' labels that were placed on them. I picked this CD up in a trade in hopes that there may be at least some of what I enjoyed about the band when I saw them live. No doubt, "Burn My Eyes" is not a Violence clone, but no-doubt Robb Flynn brought in some of that old thrash metal influence. While there certainly is some of that hardcore influence that seems to infests metalcore, "Burn My Eyes" has an equal amount of Slayer/Violence influence, which is what I enjoyed about it. I also think that the songwriting on this CD tends to be a bit more diverse than most metalcore bands, and especially most nu-metal crap. So what this CD exceeds in doing is taking the second wave of thrash metal sound, of which Violence was a part, into the new metal age. Anthems like "Davidian" and "Old" are monstrous slabs of modern molten metal giving Pantera and Grip Inc. a run for their money. I think one other thing that works to their advantage is that the vocals are heavy and aggressive in an almost death metal style, but much more accessible than most death vocalists. Hard to explain, but the closest example I can think of is possibly Paradise Lost. I am not in any way suggesting this CD is all great, however. There are a few songs that get bogged down, and the lyrics are pure hatred personified. Not sure how big a deal this is though as the vocals are not intelligable for the most part and become just another instrument, as opposed to the focal point of the songwriting. Otherwise, I really enjoy this CD from beginning to end. It's a shame that this disc had the terrible 'alternative metal' label, for it's far better than most band's of that genre. "Burn My Eyes" was the fastest and biggest selling debut album in the history of Roadrunner Records.

The Blackening Machine Head - The Blackening (Roadrunner) 2007

1. "Clenching the Fists of Dissent" (10:36)
2. "Beautiful Mourning" (4:46)
3. "Aesthetics of Hate" (6:30)
4. "Now I Lay Thee Down" (5:34)
5. "Slanderous" (5:16)
6. "Halo" (9:03)
7. "Wolves" (9:01)
8. "A Farewell to Arms" (10:12)

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.

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