Band:	Machine Head
Album:	Hellalive
Style:	Groove thrash metal, Progressive thrash metal
Release date:	March 2003

01. Bulldozer
02. The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears
03. Ten Ton Hammer
04. Old
05. Crashing Around You
06. Take My Scars
07. I'm Your God Now
08. None But My Own
09. From This Day
10. American High
11. Nothing Left
12. The Burning Red
13. Davidian
14. Supercharger

After only four studio albums and a live EP Year Of The Dragon, Machine Head releases its first real live album. Apparently, the audience of the London Brixton Academy belongs to the best of the world, because after Faith No More and Sepultura, it's Machine Head that has recorded there in 2001 most of these tracks, except 'None But My Own' and 'The Burning Red', taken from the With Full Force Festival in Germany in 2002. To come back to the London audience, we can say he is enthusiast: it is nice to hear it, and it changes from the lives that sound dead and cold. Machine Head seems to be enhanced by the fans, Rob Flynn's speeches between the tracks prove it. One last thing: the sound is almost as good as on album [Machine Head produced it while as always Colin Richardson mixed].

We could fear that the setlist would be based on the last two albums, more nu-metal, more trendy, but in fact the thrash period is really there: four tracks from Burn My Eyes, two from The More Things Change, four from The Burning Red and four from Supercharger. As satisfactions, I see the violent and without failures interpretation of all the songs, from which my favourites are 'Old', 'Crashing Around You', 'From This Day', 'Davidian' and 'Supercharger' that was made for scene.

A few deceptions: some tracks are less good ['The Burning Red', 'The Blood The Sweat The Tears'], and Rob Flynn does not sing in tune on the beginning of a few tracks ['Ten Ton Hammer', 'The Burning Red']. But on the whole, it's an excellent surprise, and moreover the album lasts more than one hour. And everybody will notice that the best songs played live are the oldest ['Old', 'Davidian', 'Ten Ton Hammer', 'Take My Scars'] and that a track that no one expected, 'I'm Your God Now', is in fact very dark and very good.

Actually, this is probably the best nu/thrash live album ever released, and it really shows the fury of a Machine Head concert. Go get it now!

Highlights: 'Old', 'I'm Your God Now', 'Supercharger'