Written by Angelic Storm on 27.09.2011 at 19:47

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 27.09.2011 at 18:55

Imo UtL is a lot stronger than The Blackening.

I myself don't agree, but what is about UTL that you feel is such a big improvement over the previous album?

It's a lot mre focused even though the songs are still long.

AMAZING!

It's an amazing album !!!!!

it's not the Blackening !!!! we've been listening to that album for about 4 years........we more time to digest and understand unto the locust.....

i liked it because they have incorporated new riff styles that we're not used to hear from MH!!!

nice job Rob!!!!!!!

I think I must be one of the very few who see this album as being decent, but not great. Most people seem to either think it's amazing, or that it's terrible...

I think this is my least favorite Machine Head album. The first three songs + Pearls Before The Swine
+ Judas Priest cover are very good songs IMO.

The children's choir is just horrible.

Written by Guest on 28.09.2011 at 17:13

I think this is my least favorite Machine Head album. The first three songs + Pearls Before The Swine
+ Judas Priest cover are very good songs IMO.

The children's choir is horrible.

Least favorite, really? I'd probably still go with "Supercharger" as my least favorite.... that one only has about 4 songs out of 13 (Im not counting the intro!) that I like. I know a lot of people bash "The Burning Red", but I like quite it a lot. As Robb Flynn himself has said, "if all people got from that album was rap metal, then they didn't listen to it"

As for how I'd place this album amongst their others... I'd definitely put BME, TMTC, and "The Blackening" above it. And maybe TTAOE as well. And yep, the children's choir is really terrible. "Who We Are" I think could have been a great song if not for that... it defintely brings the song down a lot for me.

Written by Angelic Storm on 28.09.2011 at 17:28

Least favorite, really? I'd probably still go with "Supercharger" as my least favorite.... that one only has about 4 songs out of 13 (Im not counting the intro!) that I like. I know a lot of people bash "The Burning Red", but I like quite it a lot. As Robb Flynn himself has said, "if all people got from that album was rap metal, then they didn't listen to it"

As for how I'd place this album amongst their others... I'd definitely put BME, TMTC, and "The Blackening" above it. And maybe TTAOE as well. And yep, the children's choir is really terrible. "Who We Are" I think could have been a great song if not for that... it defintely brings the song down a lot for me.

Well I really like "The Burning Red" I gave it a 9, as for "Supercharger" I can understand why people hates it, but I kinda really enjoyed it when I was 17 lol, but UTL is kinda a disappointment for me, you know 4 years after The Blackening, I'm not saying it's a bad album, it's just good.

EDIT:
What's your rating btw?

Written by Guest on 28.09.2011 at 17:46
Well I really like "The Burning Red" I gave it a 9, as for "Supercharger" I can understand why people hates it, but I kinda really enjoyed it when I was 17 lol, but UTL is kinda a disappointment for me, you know 4 years after The Blackening, I'm not saying it's a bad album, it's just good.

EDIT:
What's your rating btw?

I really like it too. There's a couple of not so good songs on it, but overall, I think it's great! I don't hate "Supercharger", I just think there are an awful lot of average songs on it. There's a small amount of songs on it that I love like "Deafening Silence" and "Bulldozer", but as a whole, there's not much on there that's memorable to me... And yup, I totally agree with you about UTL being a disappointment, especially since it's been nearly 4 years since "The Blackening". It's definitely not a bad album, but it's not a classic either. If some niggling flaws were ironed out, and another 2 or 3 songs had been on the album... then it could possibly have been a classic. Ah well.. *shrugs*

My rating? That's a tricky one, but I think I'd give it an 8. It's certainly an above average album with some genuinely great moments on it. However, I feel the album never really gains any true momentum, which it threatens to do on more than one ocassion. Most of the songs come off as having the potential to be great, rather than actually being great. ("I Am Hell" being the most obvious example of this, as it really could have been a classic song, but doesn't quite manage to be one.) So above average, but still, a let-down for me.

How did you come up with your 7 rating?

Written by Angelic Storm on 28.09.2011 at 18:14

How did you come up with your 7 rating?

My ratings for every each song:

I Am Hell (9)
Be Still And Know (9)
Locust (9)
This Is The End (7)
Darkness Within (4)
Pearls Before The Swine (8)
Who We Are (5)
The Sentinel (7)
Witch Hunt (6)
Darkness Within (4)

Written by Guest on 28.09.2011 at 18:24
My ratings for every each song:

I Am Hell (9)
Be Still And Know (9)
Locust (9)
This Is The End (7)
Darkness Within (4)
Pearls Before The Swine (8)
Who We Are (5)
The Sentinel (7)
Witch Hunt (6)
Darkness Within (4)

Nicely done!

I think this is how I'd rate every song:

I Am Hell (9) - Would have been a 10 with a longer solo and better use of the outro
Be Still And Know (7) - Nice enough song, with a decent chorus, but the awesome thrash break mid-song seems a bit out of place. As a whole, this song merely simmers, and never really captivates or explodes.
Locust (10) - Probably the best song on the album. Amazing buildup in the intro, and the whole song is a perfect blend of punishing old school MH riffs and more modern melodies. The crushing breakdown at the end is pure classic MH, harking back to "Davidian" and ensures this song to be one of my all time faves by the band. xD
This Is The End (9) - Sounds like a blend of Gothenburg melodies welded to a scathing thrash riff. Which mostly works to devestating effect. The solos in this song are simply stunning, and are the best ones on the album. If part of the mid section didnt sound a bit out of place, and the vocals had fitted better in the chorus, this would have been a 10.
Darkness Within (10) - A melancholic epic with skyscraper sized melodies that once I heard them embedded themselves in my head and wouldn't leave! Sounds like a more energetic relative of previous emotional MH classics "The Burning Red" and "Deafening Silence".
Pearls Before The Swine (7) - Starts of well, but after that it sounds a bit messy and disorganised. It's not arranged very well. The fact it also contains a riff startlingly similar to the previous song doesn't help it. There's some goodness in this song, but it feels like it's missing that little extra something that could elevate into something great.
Who We Are (7) - The horrendous (and very out of place) children's choir is definitely the low point of this song. Elsewhere, the song contains some great moments, (the solos are awesome!) but it fails to ignite into something truly great. Even without the prescence of the children's choir...

I think going by this, I think 8 probably is the right score... hehe

Written by Angelic Storm on 28.09.2011 at 18:59

Written by Guest on 28.09.2011 at 18:24
My ratings for every each song:

I Am Hell (9)
Be Still And Know (9)
Locust (9)
This Is The End (7)
Darkness Within (4)
Pearls Before The Swine (8)
Who We Are (5)
The Sentinel (7)
Witch Hunt (6)
Darkness Within (4)

Nicely done!

I think this is how I'd rate every song:

I Am Hell (9) - Would have been a 10 with a longer solo and better use of the outro
Be Still And Know (7) - Nice enough song, with a decent chorus, but the awesome thrash break mid-song seems a bit out of place. As a whole, this song merely simmers, and never really captivates or explodes.
Locust (10) - Probably the best song on the album. Amazing buildup in the intro, and the whole song is a perfect blend of punishing old school MH riffs and more modern melodies. The crushing breakdown at the end is pure classic MH, harking back to "Davidian" and ensures this song to be one of my all time faves by the band. xD
This Is The End (9) - Sounds like a blend of Gothenburg melodies welded to a scathing thrash riff. Which mostly works to devestating effect. The solos in this song are simply stunning, and are the best ones on the album. If part of the mid section didnt sound a bit out of place, and the vocals had fitted better in the chorus, this would have been a 10.
Darkness Within (10) - A melancholic epic with skyscraper sized melodies that once I heard them embedded themselves in my head and wouldn't leave! Sounds like a more energetic relative of previous emotional MH classics "The Burning Red" and "Deafening Silence".
Pearls Before The Swine (7) - Starts of well, but after that it sounds a bit messy and disorganised. It's not arranged very well. The fact it also contains a riff startlingly similar to the previous song doesn't help it. There's some goodness in this song, but it feels like it's missing that little extra something that could elevate into something great.
Who We Are (7) - The horrendous (and very out of place) children's choir is definitely the low point of this song. Elsewhere, the song contains some great moments, (the solos are awesome!) but it fails to ignite into something truly great. Even without the prescence of the children's choir...

I think going by this, I think 8 probably is the right score... hehe

I'm sorry, but I can't help but notice... you're going to give an album you called "decent" an 8/10. I give some Opeth albums I think are really good 8/10. I think a "decent" album is worth a 6 or 7 (but maybe that's just me). Sorry for being a ratings whore, just an observation.

Written by Soulhole on 30.09.2011 at 02:32
I'm sorry, but I can't help but notice... you're going to give an album you called "decent" an 8/10. I give some Opeth albums I think are really good 8/10. I think a "decent" album is worth a 6 or 7 (but maybe that's just me). Sorry for being a ratings whore, just an observation.

*sighs* It's okay... lol

This is personally, how I rate albums: Anything between 0-5 is a bad album. It's just a scale of how bad the album is. 0 being one of the most abysmal, most atrocious things you've ever heard, while 5 is a poor album, slightly below average, but it's not really going to be in any "worst albums of all time" lists. 6-7 Are scales of averageness. 8 (which is what I gave "Unto The Locust") is a good album, maybe ocassionally even showing signs of greatness, but contains some flaws/fillers that bring the album down, and stop it from being a truly great album. 9 is a great album, and 10 is an album without even the tiniest of flaws, a truly amazing album that I'd class as a classic. xD

I hope this has been able to shed more light on my decision to give UTL an 8. hehe

Written by Angelic Storm on 30.09.2011 at 04:16

Written by Soulhole on 30.09.2011 at 02:32
I'm sorry, but I can't help but notice... you're going to give an album you called "decent" an 8/10. I give some Opeth albums I think are really good 8/10. I think a "decent" album is worth a 6 or 7 (but maybe that's just me). Sorry for being a ratings whore, just an observation.

*sighs* It's okay... lol

This is personally, how I rate albums: Anything between 0-5 is a bad album. It's just a scale of how bad the album is. 0 being one of the most abysmal, most atrocious things you've ever heard, while 5 is a poor album, slightly below average, but it's not really going to be in any "worst albums of all time" lists. 6-7 Are scales of averageness. 8 (which is what I gave "Unto The Locust") is a good album, maybe ocassionally even showing signs of greatness, but contains some flaws/fillers that bring the album down, and stop it from being a truly great album. 9 is a great album, and 10 is an album without even the tiniest of flaws, a truly amazing album that I'd class as a classic. xD

I hope this has been able to shed more light on my decision to give UTL an 8. hehe

I see, i guess I just perceive decent as being average, a 6-7 but to each their own.

Written by Soulhole on 30.09.2011 at 04:34
I see, i guess I just perceive decent as being average, a 6-7 but to each their own.

Well, I did say more than once, that I saw the album as being above average. lol

This album is fine but ts nothing comparing with "the blackining"

Wow, not a lot of love for the children's choir here (ahem). I like it, took a bit of getting used too admittedly, but I think it has this kinda haunting yet glorious vibe to it that fits with the overall sound of the album. I've listed to Unto the Locust through to almost double figures now and whilst I initially only thought it was just a good album, now I think it definitely holds up well to The Blackening, maybe even surpassing it. There are moments that could be better but there are many more utterly blistering sections that make me feel the way this sort of Metal should. It has a lot of anthem-like songs, which for me is great, and when listening to them I can't help wonder and build excitement to how great they'll sound in a live environment (seeing them at Wembley Arena in December). There are parts of some songs like Be Still and Know, This is the End and Pearls Before the Swine that make them kind of drag and IMO this unnecessary fat could of been trimmed for a couple or so more songs. Thats my only real off point with this album. The bonus tracks aren't too shabby at all either, loving The Sentinel which is one of my all time favorite Judas Priest songs.

Favorite songs so far are: I am Hell (Sonata in C#), Locust, Darkness Within and Who We Are (Holy fuck!, is that Crowbars Kirk Windstein making a guest appearance or just damn uncanny backing vocals!? haha )

Current overall rating: Don't think I can really give it a full 8, but it certainly isn't a 7, so 7.5 it may have to be.

Written by Swamphell on 30.09.2011 at 17:32

This album is fine but ts nothing comparing with "the blackining"

yet you rate it a nine??

As much as I love this band I'm done buying their music. I can't take the long drawn out songs.

Written by Boxcar Willy on 09.10.2011 at 03:34

Written by Swamphell on 30.09.2011 at 17:32

This album is fine but ts nothing comparing with "the blackining"

yet you rate it a nine??

yeah comparing it with the albums of 2011 and I'll give the blackening 11 of 10 if i can ..

Written by Boxcar Willy on 09.10.2011 at 03:34

Written by Swamphell on 30.09.2011 at 17:32

This album is fine but ts nothing comparing with "the blackining"

yet you rate it a nine??

yeah comparing it with the albums of 2011 and I'll give the blackening 11 of 10 if i can ..

I think it's an ok album, a bit disappointing compared with the awesome The Blackening that is one the top 5 albums of the decade. If we compare this album with the most recent...well it's a very disappointing album.

Written by Moose on 19.09.2011 at 06:31

Excellent album.
First listen I was also a bit worried about the 'anthem songs' feel about it, especially because the last song on the album and therefore the one that stuck in my head is "Who We Are".
...But besides that, the rest is pretty killer. Notably the first song, "I Am Hell" and of course "The Locust".
It did seem kinda short though. I guess in comparison to The Blackening. Another song or two would have been nice.

agreed awesome album i loved the riffs,the vocals but the solos are insane man

Written by AndMetalForAll on 10.10.2011 at 21:43

I think it's an ok album, a bit disappointing compared with the awesome The Blackening that is one the top 5 albums of the decade. If we compare this album with the most recent...well it's a very disappointing album.

IMO this one is superior to the mmensely overrated The Blackening which was decent at best.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 12.10.2011 at 07:55

Written by AndMetalForAll on 10.10.2011 at 21:43

I think it's an ok album, a bit disappointing compared with the awesome The Blackening that is one the top 5 albums of the decade. If we compare this album with the most recent...well it's a very disappointing album.

IMO this one is superior to the mmensely overrated The Blackening which was decent at best.

Quite superior... totally agree, it is a truth like a temple.

I am the only one who think that the "I am hell" is more like celtic frost or something else?

Written by AndMetalForAll on 10.10.2011 at 21:43

I think it's an ok album, a bit disappointing compared with the awesome The Blackening that is one the top 5 albums of the decade. If we compare this album with the most recent...well it's a very disappointing album.

I wouldn't call The Blackening one of the top 5 albums of the decade, but I'd have to agree: Unto the Locust isn't as good. Still a pretty decent album though.

Written by Auntie Sahar on 13.10.2011 at 23:18

Written by AndMetalForAll on 10.10.2011 at 21:43

I think it's an ok album, a bit disappointing compared with the awesome The Blackening that is one the top 5 albums of the decade. If we compare this album with the most recent...well it's a very disappointing album.

I wouldn't call The Blackening one of the top 5 albums of the decade, but I'd have to agree: Unto the Locust isn't as good. Still a pretty decent album though.

Completely agreed in the new album. Disappointing and from far very different than The Blackening.

In my opinion The Blackening is one of the top 5 of the decade...of course it's your opinion and I respect it. But just take a look at Halo or Farewell to Arms or Now I Lay Thee Down or clenching Fists of Dissent they're some of the most epic songs of Machine Head and from the decade.Just take a look to albums of this decade...what can you find?? that puts The Blackening out? The level of maturity that Machine Head were able to reach with this album is unbelievable. Look Rob Flynn what he waas and what he is right now. Finally he can even perform some solos....finally!!! The Blackening was a landscape to the band...now they are a band....but Unto The Locust suc** compared with The Blackening.

Greets,
Andmetalforall

Ok, album. The Blackening is way better though. This one is more melodic, but the harmonised solos are scaringly simmilar to the ones on The Blackening. I dig the vocals on I am hell though. Maybe Robb's moast extreme vocals ever

Nothing that exactly "wowed" me on my first listen, but it's a good stable album and probably one of the better groove albums I've heard so far. Definitely worth the listen.

I love this album, while the blackening never impressed me THAT much! Only "Who we are" prevents me from rating this a 10... why did they had to add such an annoying song ??