:: Machine Head - The Blackening (plus bonus DVD)

Machine Head

When Californian groove/post-thrash act Machine Head recruited ex-Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel into its ranks in 2003, expectations from fans were high to say the least. And while Demmel’s song writing on 2004’s ‘Through The Ashes Of Empires’ was extremely limited, his guitar playing certainly helped reinvigorate the group as a whole, and helped Machine Head bounce back into the limelight after a couple of less than well received releases. Now with Demmel fully inducted into the band in a songwriting sense, speculation over the direction Machine Head would take on its sixth studio release ‘The Blackening’ ran rife, with most speculating that the band would return to a full thrash sound, while others anticipated a extension of the sound that made up ‘Through The Ashes Of Empires’. The truth is that both camps were right in some way, as ‘The Blackening’ does continue with direction that Machine Head forged with their last album, but not without incorporating and experimenting with some new sounds along the way. Clocking in at a lengthy ten and a half minutes, ‘Clenching The Fists Of Dissent’ is hardly a track for listeners with short attention spans. But having said that, Machine Head certainly don’t repeat themselves much throughout the song with the slow building military sounding introduction pushed aside after the two minute mark to make way for a fast paced blast of groove. The slower tempo of the choruses add to variation shown throughout the track, while the duelling solos, gang backing vocals and the total breakdown towards the end only makes the minutes fly by without so much as a dull moment registered throughout the constant evolution of the song. Flynn puts in a great vocal performance on the melodic choruses within the hammering pace of ‘Beautiful Mourning’, but it’s ‘Aesthetics Of Hate’ that will really get fans excited, with the thrash aspect of the Flynn/Demmel dual partnership (both throughout the riff sections and the solo components) taken to an entirely new level.

Compared to the previous songs, both the single ‘Now I Lay Thee Down’ and the excellent ‘Halo’ are slower mid paced numbers that rely heavily on the typical Machine Head groove of old to great effect, but sadly ‘Slanderous’ is let down due to the rather awkward and predictable lyrical passages through the choruses. ‘Wolves’ brings to the fore the guitar chemistry between Flynn and Demmel in stunning fashion with its extended solo brackets, earning itself the honour of being the definitive stand out of the album, while the ten-minute epic ‘A Farewell To Arms’ shows the level of experimentation that Machine Head are truly capable of, with the track showcasing both their gentle and the extreme sides of the bands sound, without sounding disjointed or forced at any time. In summary, while ‘The Blackening’ does falls a little short of topping ‘Through The Ashes Of Empires’, Machine Head has still managed to produce an album that’s made strictly on its own terms. The fact that it’s wholeheartedly metal through and through, experimental in all the right places, and an incredible body of work in its own right, means that ‘The Blackening’ should please most fans, and especially those who hold in high regard the masterpiece that was their last album.