Band's List Technical Thrash Machine Head (USA) The Blackening

Remember Machine Head, those who brought out 2 bombs "Burn My Eyes" and
" The More Things Change...ut who also brought out 2 shits " The Burning Red " and howfull " Supercharger ". The group brought out " Through the ashes of worsens " who showed a Machine Head in shape even if he contained some defects. Then, 4 years it will have been necessary to wait so that the American group gives birth to his fifth child.

Having taken out a very good DVD in 2005, it is year 2007 which marks the release of "The Blackening". While is it about this opus?
" Clenching the fists of dissent " opens the ball with an intro which is not without reminding us "Imperium". Instruments arrive and send us a high-powered riff. The title, long of 10 minutes, consists of many alternations and advances the technique of the group by bringing out us impressive soloes, of exelent riffs and an impeccable singing. A first track which impresses and is powerful. The album contain 2 parts.
There are on one side 4 tracks of 10 minutes which are " Clenching the fists of dissent ", "Halo", "Wolves" and " Has farewell to arms ". Difficult to decide between them so they are different and excellent at the same time. "Halo" is the song which most marked me by a strong presence of the clear singing of Robb Flynn and Adam Duce.
2 other tracks are very good also and show an inspired Machine Head, technical, and impressive.As for 4 othertracks which follow each other on the album, they are in a trash vein with always some passages neo-metal but nothing unpleasant. The clear singing is also present and some compos call back us to tracks of the good period.

The tunes are very stickers and very well interpreted by the frontman. No title is bad and I have don't have any favorite beetween all the tracks of this album, so, ALL the album fooled me.

Machine Head takes risks by bringing out an album of only 8 tracks , but a duration of 61 minutes. Be not too sceptic by seeing the duration of the tracks , because this opus is really good. "The Blackening" is the most technical, the most popular album of Machine Head and the soloes of Phil Demmel and Robb Flynn's guitars are more numerous than usually
.The new Machine Head arrived. We like or we don't like. For me, the choice is made!

The big surprise of year 2007!

Translated by trashykiss

Machine Head were in a bit of a slump pre-’Through the Ashes of Empires’. After exploding onto the scene with ‘Burn My Eyes’ and since their second album ‘The More Things Change…’, they had been on a slight creative slide.
A shame really, considering the potency of tracks like ‘Davidian’, ‘Ten Ton Hammer’ and ‘Block’, but 2003’s ‘…Ashes of Empires’ was a triumphant return to form. Tracks like ‘Imperium’ and ‘Days Turn Blue to Grey’ showed a new maturity and quality in song writing, the increased length of tracks allowed riffs and musical ideas to flourish.

‘The Blackening’, the newest MH offering and their best work yet. Opening with a 10 minute track is a dangerous idea for a more mainstream band these days but the effortless guitar play makes ‘Clenching the Fists of Dissent’ seem half the length and you never lose interest in it. It’s a work ethic and style that plays out through the album, leaving tracks like ‘Farewell to Arms’ and personal highlight ‘Halo’ as outstanding examples of modern metal played well and passionately. Lead single, ‘Aesthetics of Hate’, written about the hateful article praising Dimebag Darrell’s murder by conservative bastard William Grim, is not only a movingly impassioned defence of the great man but also contains some wonderful guitar work between Rob Flynn and Phil Demmel.

Glad to see that this proud metal band has got back to its quality highs and that the impressive evolution on ‘…Ashes of Empires’ has continued.

After the release of "Through the Ashes of Empires" in 2004, Machine Head knew they had to create a worthy follow-up to their rebound album after the not-so-hot "Supercharger" from 2001. This album was to be 2007's, "The Blackening". What a ride this album is. From start to finish, the album possesses high amounts of everything you look for in a metal record: killer thrash riffs, incredible solos, catchy melodies and choruses, etc... And with the album clocking in around an hour, you are certainly to get your money's worth. There are also certainly some epic moments on this album, with two songs clocking in at over ten minutes, these being "Clenching The Fists Of Dissent" and "A Farewell To Arms". However, these tracks do not overstay their welcome or seem to drag along. Throughout this hour long affair, the music is absolutely superb. The guitar harmonies of Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel are a joy to hear, especially on the third track "Aesthetics Of Hate". Drummer Dave McClain plays extremely well on this record, along with bassist Adam Duce. Flynn's vocals are certainly well done; most of them being angry yells, but he does incorporate some melodic singing in some instances. Overall, this album is an all out pummelfest. If you enjoy any kind of metal, this needs to be in your collection.

There are so many aspects to Machine Head's 2007 LP "The Blackening" that are positive, but perhaps the best one is their duality in style, purpose, and technique - much akin to the yin-yang model of cohesion. There's a rotation from slow to fast, aggressive to cautionary, thrash to progressive, solos to duets, and raw to proficiency. An album of eight tracks, most of them are long enough to reveal these traits within each song. "Slanderous" and "Clenching The Fists of Dissent" are excellent, complex, and highly creative examples, while "The Blackening" - by itself - could be the best track because it includes it all: impressive soloing and dueling (low on virtuosity, but very high on scaling), alternating classic thrash rhythms with power-influenced melody, and the vocals swinging from the midrage yell to the clean on the refrain. Another pleasure to be enjoyed is the apparent lack of a pattern connecting the songwriting, too. As much as the sheer loudness is effectively blasted after soft intros on a few songs ("Clenching...", "The Blackening", and "A Farewell To Arms") this isn't the norm. The point being is that although the overall direction is quite pronounced, each song is independent and can stand on its own merits. If there are central musical themes, it would be the tendency to play aggressive rather than fast, and sticking with structured solos, both single and harmonized. Since these choices work, the overall feel of the album is elevated. Lyrically, the same hOlds true. The attitude on most of the songs is honest. For example, a politically charged message that is "Clenching..." is more cautionary than angry. Even the most emotional song "Aesthetics of Hate" (a tribute to Dimebag with a more pointed message to his executioner) is still intellectualy driven. All put together, Machine Head's "The Blackening" was well concieved, excellently directed, and executed with precision; one of the great metal achievements of 2007.