Machine Head - Unto The Locust review
| Band: | Machine Head |
| Album: | Unto The Locust |
| Style: | Groove thrash metal, Progressive thrash metal |
| Release date: | September 27, 2011 |
| Guest review by: | AndMetalForAll |
01. I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)
1 - Sangre Sani
2 - I Am Hell
3 - Ashes To The Sky
02. Be Still And Know
03. Locust
04. This Is The End
05. Darkness Within
06. Pearls Before The Swine
07. Who We Are
08. The Sentinel [Judas Priest cover] [Special edition bonus]
09. Witch Hunt [Rush cover] [Special edition bonus]
10. Darkness Within [Acoustic version] [Special edition bonus]
+ The Making Of Unto The Locust [Documentary DVD] [Special edition bonus]
I had big expectations for this album before the release but I must say I was a bit disappointed. After the 10 given by a famous musical entity I was expecting a mindblowing skull-crushing comeback album. Machine Head have been through a lot this last couple of years and most of that due to lack of direction in their musical style.
I have to say that The Blackening is in my opinion one of the best albums of the decade, it's definitely in the top 5. Rob Flynn finally gave a direction to the band and also got a grip of his life, making it a live main event in every show with an amazing heavy sound, putting in the table the best of the band. In the newest release Machine Head lost a little bit of their edge but finally put the band on the map alongside other metal greats. Unto The Locust starts with "I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)" which has a great start and very heavy drum parts along with an ALMOST guttural voice by Rob Flynn but in the middle of the song they lose their way, the solo is not nothing special.
Things get much better with the next two songs "Be Still And Know" and "Locust" two of the best this record puts on the table, great contenders for live shows and both intros are really cool with great choruses and amazing performance by the band. Machine Head always gave a melodic sense to their metal, sometimes working, other times not working, however in this album and mainly in the two songs above, the result is really good making them some of the best technically composed songs in the band's history. Contrasting with that, one of the worst songs I have ever heard was "This Is The End", their tempo in this one is just awful, I really don't like this song. The additional elements added to improve the album don't work for me, the Latin chants and the children singing in "Who We Are" just don´t fit and I really don't know whose idea it was to add this element on the record but they just don't work. The cover songs work really well, a sign of how matured and changed this band is, they also can be played in live shows in a way to tribute bands like Rush and Judas Priest. In my opinion, this is a disappointing album compared with The Blackening but it's an ok album when heard without comparison. One great thing about the album is the intention to be played live, most songs can work really well in live shows.
Although, I will listen to a lot of bad criticism for this review if it's read, this is my true opinion as a fan of Machine Head that would love to see this band in even bigger flights. The rating is not great but this album solidifies the band's position with the great metallers of the world. Since their creation they've changed a lot, like I said before, they're a more mature and grown up band. Not just a band but Machine Head!
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by AndMetalForAll | 02.01.2012
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
6.8
6.8
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Rating: 6.8 |
When a band reaches the peak of their career, one of two options present themselves. They can either continue on the path of their career-peaking work, or try something new, in a different direction. In the latter case, more often than not, a shift in direction doesn't work out as well as the band planned. After Coma Of Souls, Kreator embarked on an experimentation with a more industrial sound, to a not-too-enthusiastic response from their fanbase. The same cases can be seen with Megadeth after Rust In Peace, Metallica after And Justice For All, and so on. The Blackening was (arguably) the peak album of Machine Head's career, and on the follow up, 2011's Unto The Locust, the band went with the second option: a change in sound. And while I wasn't expecting The Blackening, Volume 2, I must say that said sound change comes as a bit of a disappointment. Read more ›› |
Rating:
8.5
8.5
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Rating: 8.5 |
Machine Head, the current band of former Vio-lence and Forbidden guitarist Robb Flynn, need no real introduction to most fans of thrash metal. Yet it is amazing how many people seem prepared to assume that all they've released that is worth listening to is Burn My Eyes/i] and/or The Blackening. I feel pretty differently: I honestly find Burn My Eyes unimpressive (admittedly, that may be due to me not being a fan of groove metal) and found The Blackening overly long, suffering from the usual problems I have with progressive music (namely, a fondness of writing unnecessarily long music that seems more intended to show off the musicians' skills rather than write something that an audience can enjoy listening to). I do not deny that they are good albums, merely that I do not agree when people refer to them as Machine Head's best albums. By contrast, I consider Unto The Locust to be their best album and one of the best albums of 2011: high praise indeed, considering it was an impulse buy for me for a band I'd never heard of. Read more ›› |
Rating:
7.7
7.7
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Rating: 7.7 |
How do you follow up an album widely regarded as a watershed moment in metal? Simply put, you often can't; it will be buried under the weight of expectation put upon it. Overachievement can be a damning thing for an album, and that is no exception here. Machine Head try to carry the magic over from The Blackening with some minor variations to differentiate from it. A valiant effort, and one that if taken in isolation a success. Alas, with the shadow looming large over it, the die was cast before it had a chance. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 8
Visited by: 108 users
| Lit. Account deleted |
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| AndMetalForAll kual21 Posts: 314  |
Written by [user id=101272] on 02.01.2012 at 21:36 Actually don't agree with you, I think this is a good album alone...But compared with the previous disappointing, I respect your view. the previous album was almost epic...But remember in my opinion unto the locust isn't better thn the blackening but definitely solidifies the band's style and position among the great metal bands...
---- greets, kual21
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| Lit. Account deleted |
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| AndMetalForAll kual21 Posts: 314 |
Written by [user id=101272] on 02.01.2012 at 21:46 But i did that exercise. In the review i told when not compared with the blackening it's an ok album. I respect your opinion of course, but i truly believe this album is good but just that. I heard this album with The Blackening out of my mind but still think 7.2 is a good rating. In my opinion when a band releases an album, it's almost a rule to compare it with past albums. That's the way i think music, maybe it's wrong but that's my way.
---- greets, kual21
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Debate: tl;dr Good review. I would've scrapped the ending though... no need to justify your words and score within the review. That's what the thread is for. I would have used that space to discuss more about the album.
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| AndMetalForAll kual21 Posts: 314 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 02.01.2012 at 22:35 Thanks for your opinion! In the end i just wanted to show how conscious i was of the response that i could and can have with this review. The total rating in the album is 8.3 mine is 7.2. Most of the fans enjoy this album great deal. I just wanted to clarify my position in the last paragraph. greets, AndMetalForAll
---- greets, kual21
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| Butters49 Posts: 208  |
Lol definitely agreeing with the first sentence of this review. this album was such a... shitty copy cat of the previous album... i dont know what else to call it lol.
---- "Sataaaaaaaaan. Yeah yeah!" -King Diamond
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| Angelic Storm Melodious Posts: 6675  |
Good review, and I also pretty much agree with the rating too. 
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