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: | Auntie Sahar |
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]
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.
Unto the Locust begins with "I Am Hell," in my opinion the strongest and most cleverly multi-layered track on the album. It starts with some very interesting, almost operatic, vocal harmonies, before transitioning into a "groovy" guitar part and then into the main, quite aggressive part of the song. The intense energy of the first track continues with "Be Still And Know", with a very well-executed solo by Phil Demmel, and the title track "Locust." But these first three tracks come across (at least to me) as a bit deceiving, because after this, that's all folks, and the main highlights of the album are pretty much over.
What follows after "Locust" is basic generic groove thrash with a focus shifted onto more melodic clean vocals than Rob Flynn's regular snarling style, as well as some more melodic, "relaxed" passages (see "Darkness Within"). At times, this change in vocal style sounds quite (dare I say it?) metalcore-ish, which came as a bit of a turn off to me. This may be a bold claim, but when one takes into consideration the bands that Machine Head toured with in support of this album (Bring Me The Horizon and Darkest Hour), it really isn't. For the most part, the album retains its groove thrash core, but the flickers here and there of a possible transition to a more mainstream-metal sound aren't too promising.
To put it simply, Unto the Locust has some great moments among a lot of dismissible ones. The first three tracks are pretty powerful, and in general, Phil Demmel's guitar work all over the album is, as usual, quite impressive. But there's still something missing, something that was there on the The Blackening that is here on this album to a much lesser degree, if at all. Perhaps it's the fact that Unto The Locust comes across as a lot more mellow, a fact that may please some fans, and disappoint others. Regardless, I still respect Machine Head for attempting a different musical direction, even if I'm overall not pleased with the result of it. Yet whether they'll redeem themselves with their next release, or continue with this new, more accessible sound has yet to be seen.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 7 |
| Originality: | 6 |
| Production: | 7 |
Written by Auntie Sahar | 18.01.2012
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:
7.2
7.2
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Rating: 7.2 |
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. Read more ›› |
Rating:
8.5
8.5
|
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
|
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: 22
Visited by: 152 users
| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Just a little disclaimer for people reading my review. Please focus on the REVIEW, and not the rating. I'm not saying that the album is shit, just that the band's change in sound didn't really meet my expectations. A 6.8 is my way of conveying that the album is a bit above average, but is missing something that makes it fall short of being a "good" album. Thank you.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=101272] on 18.01.2012 at 17:32 Burn My Eyes was an excellent piece of violent 90s groove thrash, easily in the same category as Pantera or Chaos A.D.-era Sepultura. One of the beauties of music, my friend: the many interpretations that can stem from it. If you're going to argue your point intelligently, with details to back up your points, then by all means do so. If, however, you're just going to make empty claims ("This review is worst than the first one," "Burn My Eyes was more accessible than this") without any explanation to vouch for the points you're trying to make, then please: don't waste your time.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=101272] on 18.01.2012 at 18:03 You misread as well. Nowhere did I call it a thrashcore album, nor did I say it had too much experimentation. I praised the aggressive nature of the first half of the album, as well as Phil Demmel's guitar work. What I did say is that the vocals COME ACROSS as a bit metalcore-ish, and that while I didn't particularly care for their experimentation on the album's latter half, I still respect them for trying something different. And whining? Just because I don't think an album is absolutely mindblowing, and express my opinion as such, does not mean that I am whining, good sir. By the way, I get what you mean about Burn My Eyes now. Thanks for clearing that up.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Butters49 Posts: 208  |
I agree with almost everything in this review
---- "Sataaaaaaaaan. Yeah yeah!" -King Diamond
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Little correction Machine Head reached their peak with their Burn My Eyes not with the horribly overrated The Blackening 
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| thehondo Posts: 141  |
I think we all knew it would be tough to match The Blackening. Also, good artist are gonna try something different each time out, otherwise, they'll grow stagnant and fans will see,feel and hear that.
---- No time like the present
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 18.01.2012 at 19:31 I do agree that The Blackening is a bit overrated, but it still is an awesome album (just like how Master Of Puppets is overrated, but still great). I say that it's the peak of their career because I think it represents a fusion of everything the band experimented with up to that point. The raw agression of Burn My Eyes is there, but then so is the slightly relaxed feel of some of their later material.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306  |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 18.01.2012 at 16:44 Only 6.8?!
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.01.2012 at 01:05 As I said in that little disclaimer, it is my way of conveying that the album is above average, but still lacking something that (in my eyes) would make it a good album.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| pisymbol Posts: 193  |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.01.2012 at 01:05 I'm sorry but rarely do I say this....sorry no way is this album a 6.8. Minimally its a 7.5 and most likely an 8i. I thought Machine Head did a solid job on delivering on their core aesthetic. I have no idea why the reviewer thinks the sound has changed that much because to my ears, it really hasn't. Locust is a natural extension to the Blackened in pretty much every way (and practically the entire Internet agrees with me but to each his own).
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| Troy Killjoy perfunctionist Staff Posts: 21306 |
Written by pisymbol on 19.01.2012 at 05:08 I was only joking in response to his little disclaimer but I actually personally rated this a 6.5, and The Blackening I'd give a 7. I agree with your assessment that the two albums aren't all that dissimilar though. 
---- "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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| pisymbol Posts: 193 |
Written by Troy Killjoy on 19.01.2012 at 05:14 If you loved the Blackening (personally I thought it was a wonderful modern American metal release), then Locust is just an outgrowth of that, i.e. it delivered as promised. I think after a further listen its a 7.5 while Blackening is an 8. EDIT: I can see why you would give these albums a point lower I think (I want to guess for fun): They are very repetitive. Each track is basically the same formula which they didn't even invent. What makes Locust a bit more frustrating than the Blackening is that they did try to sprinkle in some progressive elements but for the most part they don't work. From the children singing to the acoustic solos, they just comes off as cheap production techniques to try to vary their sound: stale croutons on an already bland salad. Finally, its a small salad with less than 10 tracks. With all of this said, if someone new to metal wanted a modern album of straight up good wholesome American inspired heavy metal....ain't nothing wrong with Machine Head....my 2 cents...
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| Nemo Atkins Posts: 257 |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Nemo Atkins on 20.01.2012 at 03:06 Thanks man. I appreciate people like you, who can argue a differing opinion without losing their heads. I think it's different from The Blackening just in its overall sound. I honestly can't put it any better than that. It just sounds a little more relaxed to me, the riffs aren't as harsh, or something.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Boxcar Willy yr a kook Posts: 9155  |
There are lots of long posts here 
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| Cynic Metalhead Ambrish Saxena Posts: 7557  |
Written by Boxcar Willy on 20.01.2012 at 18:51 ....ending it up like an fucking dissertation on something. Anyways, this album will make its room near The Blackening and is very exhaustive stuff. Great vocals but weak bass compare to their last output. Expectation was much higher and I think in between some of the songs were boring and too stretchable.
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| I_Die_Often Posts: 697  |
I got a kick out of hearing Witch Hunt, that's on of my favorite Rush songs.
---- Old enough to be your Daddy... speaking of which... you look familiar... do I know your mother???
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| Bulletpr00fMonk Posts: 24 |
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