Machine Head - The Blackening - guest review
Machine Head - The Blackening - guest review
Tracklist
Disc I01. Clenching The Fists Of Dissent
02. Beautiful Mourning
03. Aesthetics Of Hate
04. Now I Lay Thee Down
05. Slanderous
06. Halo
07. Wolves
08. A Farewell To Arms
09. Hallowed Be Thy Name [Iron Maiden cover] [bonus]
10. Battery [Metallica cover] [bonus]
Disc II [Special Edition Bonus CD - B-Sides/Rarities 1994-2008]
01. Hallowed Be Thy Name [Iron Maiden cover]
02. Alan's On Fire [Poison Idea cover]
03. Negative Creep [Nirvana cover]
04. Seasons Wither
05. My Misery
06. House Of Suffering [Bad Brains cover]
07. The Possibility Of Life's Destruction [Discharge cover]
08. Ten Ton Hammer (Extended Original Mix)
09. Hole In The Sky [Black Sabbath cover]
10. Colors [Ice-T cover]
11. Hard Times [Cro-Mags cover] [live]
12. Halo (I Want Your Soul) [demo 2005 version]
13. Aesthetics Of Hate (Thrash-terpiece) [demo 2005 version]
Disc III [Special Edition DVD]
01. Clenching The Fists Of Dissent [Live With Full Force 2008]
02. Now I Lay Thee Down [Live With Full Force 2008]
03. Halo [Live With Full Force 2008]
04. Aesthetics Of Hate [Live Rock In Rio 2008]
05. Davidian [Live Rock In Rio 2008]
06. Imperium [Live Download 2007]
07. Old [Live Download 2007]
08. A Thousand Lies [Live Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004]
09. The Rage To Overcome [Live Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004]
10. Death Church [Live Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004]
11. Blood For Blood [Live Burn My Eyes 10th Anniversary 2004]
+ Halo [video]
+ Now I Lay Thee Down [video]
+ Aesthetics Of Hate [video]
+ Making Of Feature For Each Video
Guest review by
Mc_Stinkle May 19, 2025
The songs are beautifully crafted, with mixes of heavy, grooving riffs, melodic interludes, soaring choruses, crushing breakdowns, and blistering solos. This album is a rarity, since it can both get your head banging and shed more light on an important topic while giving you goosebumps. Songs like "Clenching The Fists Of Dissent" and "A Farewell To Arms" have similar messages, but while "Clenching The Fists Of Dissent" is an angry war cry, "A Farewell To Arms" is an almost mournful track about how America has become a force of destruction instead of one of advancement. Many of the songs have powerful messages, and the way the band presents each message in the song is breathtaking.
Not only are the meanings behind the songs almost deep at times, the music in general is amazing. One track that particularly stood out to me was "Halo", which has an adrenaline-pumping riff that evolves into an almost transcendental chorus. "Halo" has it all: a solid intro, a great main riff and verses, an unforgettable chorus, a crushing breakdown, and a really good solo. The part where Robb Flynn's soft vocals singing "And I won't pray for you" leads into one of the best final choruses I've ever heard gives me goosebumps and chills every time.
In conclusion, I heavily recommend this album to anyone who is interested in getting into metal, or anyone who is familiar with this kind of music. And while you listen, pay attention to the lyrics. Overall, this is an album that I will praise for the rest of my life.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 10 |
| Originality: | 10 |
| Production: | 10 |
Written by Mc_Stinkle | May 19, 2025
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:
9.3
9.3
|
Rating:
9.3 |
Who said Thrash was on its way out? From the first listen, the first riff of 'Clenching The Fists Of Dissent', you could tell that this was not so. Since Machine Head's début, 'Burn My Eyes' in 1994, they have done what they do best. Playing top-notch Thrash Metal. And their latest effort 'The Blackening' is definitely their best release so far. Read more ›› |
Guest review by
ProjectEndgame
ProjectEndgame
Rating:
10
10
|
Rating:
10 |
I absolutely hate hearing people say that whenever they hear an awesome album, they think it's the greatest thing ever to come since sliced bread, and the fact the people consider something perfect is complete crap. This is what bothers me the most about Machine Head and The Blackening: it may very well be the greatest thrash album ever created in this generation (meaning the 2000s only of course). Read more ›› |
Rating:
9.5
9.5
|
Rating:
9.5 |
Finally... Machine Head released an album in 2007 after four years of absence. Although not one of the biggest metal bands of the last 20 years (at that time), The Blackening was one of the most expected albums by all the fans or non-fans of the band. In my opinion, most of the fans wanted to see the direction the band was going to take. Machine Head had different styles through the years since their formation. In the entire album, one thing I have to say and honor is the outstanding performance of the band but mainly by Rob Flynn, finally he got a grip on his life, learned how to play guitar really well (before he almost never made a solo, in this album he makes solos in most of the songs), changed his life and that reflects in the entire album and his performance. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments:
2
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35 users
 Posts: 64542 |
Posts: 64542
Their best so far,love hus clean vocals
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - "Speak English or Die"  I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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Posts: 119  |
Posts: 119 Written by Bad English on 19.05.2025 at 20:51 Robb’s cleans in the chorus of’Halo’ are incredible. They sound so good.
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