Machine Head - Burn My Eyes - guest review
Machine Head - Burn My Eyes - guest review
Tracklist
01. Davidian02. Old
03. A Thousand Lies
04. None But My Own
05. The Rage To Overcome
06. Death Church
07. A Nation On Fire
08. Blood For Blood
09. I'm Your God Now
10. Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies
11. Block
12. Alan's On Fire [Poison Idea cover] [Japanese bonus]
13. Davidian [live] [Japanese bonus]
14. Hard Times [live] [Cro-Mags cover] [Japanese bonus]
Guest review by
Passenger January 04, 2005
This is the scenery, this is the reality. Welcome to the experience that visioning Thrash Metal through Machine Head's burned eyes is. Zenith of a relatively controversial fusion of conservative postures and modern approaches (which doesn't always have to mean alternative), I still get impressed of how successfully heavy and intense this album is, several years and listens later. During that time much has passed but its essence persists, which is, by itself, a fact that makes anything not recent interesting.
And who can deny the quality of this start? Certainly not anyone who understands the logical evolution Machine Head developed or, at least, is reasonable enough to separate this from their following stage of "The Burning Red" and "Supercharger". "Burn My Eyes" is a massive bombardment of energy on our ears.
As "Davidian" begins there's nothing to feel but surprise. Drums role in, riffs start gigantically and Flynn's cruel tone take this hymn to the famous line "let freedom ring with a shotgun blast!". The speed rises later and, with a deep short scream, like someone does after being punched in the stomach, there's some final furious but slow riffage. This is one of the best Thrash Metal songs ever. Continuing, "Old" is next, again full of charisma and aggressiveness but also more groove, like it is throughout most of the songs. Next, "A Thousand Lies" is fast and has a great solo. "None But My Own" and "The Rage To Overcome" are less explosive but more dynamic and somewhat psychotic. The weird altered voices in "Death Church" are the prelude to an obscure chorus and the song overall sounds oppressing, even if unmistakably part of this album. "A Nation On Fire" isn't very different, until a later sudden charge of violence. In the 8th assault it's like we go back to "Davidian", which works very well after the slower and less in-your-face part. In the same logic, apart from the rather emotional initial verses, comes "I'm Your God Now". The following one is "Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies". I hesitate to call this one a mainly instrumental track, there's a main riff and over it there are several different dialogues coming up. Anyway, to end, "Block" is frenetic and convincing.
Like them or not the power imposed is incredible and their great rhythmic sense just makes them more creative and captivating. A competent execution with a contemporaneous vision for an inexorable result. "Burn My Eyes" brought immediate fame to Machine Head and that's easily understandable right after just one listen.
Written by Passenger | January 04, 2005
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.
Comments
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Posts: 80  |
Posts: 80
For sure this one was a great start for the band. The lyrics are good and they deliver a strong message thru the entire album and that molten with a raw powerfull heavy/trash sound gaves us a very good album.
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 Posts: 2955 |
Posts: 2955
Very nice album. Indeed an excellent debut.
----  ---- member of the true crusade against old school heavy metal, early 80s thrash, NWOBHM, traditional doom, first and second wave black metal, old school death metal, US power metal, 70s prog rock and atmospheric doomsludgestoner. o/
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 Posts: 40071 |
Posts: 40071 Written by Uirapuru on 30.05.2009 at 20:39 Yes, a shame they never managed to even equal this with their later albums.
---- 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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 Posts: 15360 |
Posts: 15360 Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 30.05.2009 at 20:40 or come even remotely close. i caught them twice with Slayer on the Divine Intervention Tour (including the gig in Mesa on Slayer's "Live Intrusion" video, where members of Machinehead join them on stage) my roommate caught the drummer's stick when he tossed it into the crowd. i was a pretty big fan at that point, liked "10 Ton Hammer", although not nearly as much as "Burn My Eyes." Burning Red is the only album i've ever bought of a band i really liked that i was not able to listen to once. I yanked it out of the cd player about five tracks in, horribly disappointed. Tried it a second time, didn't get that far, gave it away with no regrets the next day. Have no bought anything of their's since, and when I heard Kerry King called them out, I had to agree with him. good review, good album.
---- get the fuck off my lawn. Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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 Posts: 6663 |
Posts: 6663
Excellent album, like Pantera without the stupid lyrics and wankfest solos. I remember when I first heard it I thought it was the heaviest thing on the planet!
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 Posts: 442 |
Posts: 442
Same jupitreas, first time i heard this album all I had been listening to was big four stuff when I was first getting into thrash in high school. The first time I heard Davidian I couldn't comprehend the heaviness. I just smiled through the first listen, and then probably headbanged to it fifty times consecutively after that.
---- 
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 Posts: 7944 |
Posts: 7944
I think it's their best album ever.
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Posts: 95  |
Posts: 95
Pantera + Slayer + Sepultura (Chaos A.D) + (Little bit of) Alice in Chains. That Rob Flynn is always tuned with the trend of the moment, and these time did the best formula.
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 Posts: 6213 |
Posts: 6213
I still think that "Davidian" is the heaviest song ever. And friggin brilliant to boot.
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 Posts: 6675 |
Posts: 6675 Written by Daniell on 09.12.2011 at 22:12 "Davidian" is without doubt one of the greatest album openers ever. I still remember the first time I heard the opening riff, I felt like I'd been bulldozed over, it was so heavy and unlike anything I'd heard before!
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