Machine Head - Unto The Locust review
| Band: | Machine Head |
| Album: | Unto The Locust |
| Style: | Groove thrash metal, Progressive thrash metal |
| Release date: | September 2011 |
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]
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.
So, is this a bad album? No, in fact it's one of the bands stronger efforts, featuring songs that outmatch much of what comes before and (easily) after it. The riff to "Locust" is arguably the best they've ever produced, strong and catchy as all hell, and made for headbanging. In fact, it takes until the 4th track ("This Is The End") for the album to hit its first major snag. 4 great songs, 2 that are good with flaws and 1 clunker is a decent hit ratio for many albums... just not for an album with this level of expectation on it.
The musicianship is top notch; the quality of the playing is as good as on The Blackening and often just as catchy. Demmel and Flynn offer up as many good riffs on just one song as most bands manage in a single album. McClain delivers a level of drumming that is damn impressive and I often find myself listening to him in isolation. Duce's last album for the band is a strong affair on the bass and rounds off an aggressive sound. The only weak link would be the lyrics, which can vary between strong ("Locust") and cheesy in a bad way ("Who We Are").
The album does have its flaws, albeit more often elements of songs rather than whole songs with only one exception. "This Is The End" is the only song that I could do without, a song that has only its solo as a redeeming feature; the song around it is pretty awful though (the chorus especially). "Pearls Before The Swine" is based on some poor riffing until the song ups the tempo and comes good at over the halfway mark. "Who We Are" tries too hard, but is overall a good song if you can overlook the strong whiffs of cheese every so often.
The last time I can recommend a Machine Head album without any attached caveats, Unto The Locust is a solid album and one that shouldn't be overlooked because of what came before it. If you have any doubts, just remember the riff to "Locust"; it will knock any doubts out of your head in quick fashion.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 8 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 8 |
Written by omne metallum | 18.04.2020
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
|
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:
6.8
6.8
|
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
|
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 ›› |
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