Who needs Metallica - who work experimentally with Lou Reed - when the Thrash Metal monster Machine Head has overtaken the gentlemen from Los Angeles in terms of joy of playing, toughness and vocal force? It took four years. Four years in which Robb Flynn, Adam Duce, Phil Demmel and Dave McClain toured incessantly and mercilessly fueled the tinnitus of the steadily growing fan base with their masterpiece “The Blackening”. But now it's that time again! With “Unto The Locust” Machine Head deliver the album of the year and also the best album in the band's history. With this work, too, the quartet is breaking new ground and doing it in an incredibly convincing way.
With “Unto The Locust” the legendary Neo-Thrashers from Oakland are back and I can only answer the question of whether this work meets the immense demands with a big YEAAAH !!! answer. But let's start at the beginning: Frontman Rob Flynn has apparently taken off his nose ring and also taken singing lessons. This is already noticeable with the opener “I Am Hell”. Mr. Flynn puts in a clean Gregorian intro and then lets his band mates knock him over the ears with the drums and subscript guitars before he goes to work with his well-known aggressiveness. Exactly this scheme runs like a wonderful red thread through the entire album. Flynn's new vocal skills paired with the enthusiasm of his bandmates is simply breathtaking: Breathtakingly fast, breathtakingly varied and breathtakingly hard! Great!
The CD begins with “Sangre Sani”, almost gloomy choral singing, the first of three “acts” of the title “I Am Hell”. Less than a minute later, the second part of this idiosyncratic exhibition, which weighs tons, follows. In view of this steamroller the anticipation rises immeasurably and then Dave McClain finally counts in and all hell breaks loose, in the truest sense of the word, because “Ashes to the Sky” is a bazooka of a song - the guys rush ahead without mercy and let them Verses lead to a terrific epic chorus that just sweeps away. After it sounds for the second time, Robb and Phil unpack the heavy artillery: The solos, so idolized by fans, are back on board, faster and more brutal than ever. And then - breakdown. But even here it is not over yet, because before this over eight-minute monster comes to a standstill with a mighty finale, gentle, semi-acoustic chords sound that make the impression absolutely. After hearing it for the first time, I just think: Woah, if this continues ...
And as it goes on, “Be Still And Know” begins mystically and full of promise before this song also explodes. An absolutely elemental chorus sits enthroned high on the sophisticated stanzas. “And the Sun will rise - Dawn will break through blackest night…” - Gigantic. But we wouldn't go from here Machine Head talk, that's all. This song also boasts of killer solos and great variety. This is followed by the first sample published some time ago and the title track of the album, “Locust”, as it were. Here, what began on “The Blackening” is continued consistently and - as incredible as it seems - at an even higher level! The verses are so filled with groove that it cracks and the chorus is melodic, crisp and gripping. In an exciting bridge, Robb Flynn's typical, crystal-clear “boy singing” suddenly sounds, before the already outrageously divine guitars get back to work and saw everything that gets in their way. Dave McClain on the drums has absolutely no holding back either.
The fourth song is called “This Is The End”, a small, fine melody puts the listener in the mood and - it's absolutely divine - everything flies around your ears again. At this point at the latest, the listener's jaws should drop, because this speed and this pressure - that could even be for Machine Head be a new record. What is rubbing down the ear canal here can hardly be put into words. After these “only” 6 minutes and 12 seconds you just need exactly the break that “The Darkness Within” offers. It can easily keep up with the legendary semi-ballad-like hit “Descend The Shades Of Night”. I can't and don't have to describe the ingenuity behind it, the comparison should be meaningful enough and you just have to experience the rest for yourself. A simply fantastic piece of music.
But if you want even more peace and quiet, you have to switch off, because with “Pearls Before The Swine” the next storm is rolling in, whose thunder will shake mountains live and whose lightning will melt them. Whoever liked “Unleash the Wolves” will love this track. Hard riffs, bestial vocals and a completely unexpected turnaround in the second half make this song a one-of-a-kind. The last track on this album begins with “Who We Are” and in an unusual way, because a children's choir actually sings the refrain, only to be replaced by Flynn's brutal organ. The stanzas cut razor-sharp into the eardrums, the chorus could not sound more powerful - a hymn of irrepressible violence. As unbelievable as it sounds, the last few solos that follow go one better and burn everything down. And again the children's choir sounds, this time together with Robb - it's incredibly ingenious and colossal and then, very slowly, with strings and a military drum march, “Unto The Locust” ends.
Friends, I don't know when or if I've ever heard an album in which every single song is able to overshadow the complete works of well-known bands, but this disc is one of those things. Celebrate next year Machine Head their twentieth anniversary and tiredness, they are about as far away as a Red Bull addicted free climber. Already with “From The Ashes of Empires” it was said that it would be the high point of their career, with “The Blackening” this judgment was revised and now with “Unto the Locust” the band succeeded for the third time in a row, everything by far to outstrip. There were a lot of internal problems, that's right, but with all their sweat and passion these guys fought for their band and for themselves and you can hear that. Anyone who puts so much heart into their music and can then also implement it so masterfully will become immortal during their lifetime. I don't know what's to come, but I can only expect the impossible, because THAT is exactly what has become synonymous with "Machine Head". With this in mind: buy, insert, crank up or buy an album, get tickets and party in autumn - that's perfection! Absolutely formidable.
Tracklist:
01. I Am Hell (Sonata In C #)
I. Sangre Sani
II. I Am Hell
III. 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
Special Edition Bonus Tracks:
08. The Sentinel (Judas Priest cover)
09.Witch Hunt (Rush Cover)
10. Darkness Within (Acoustic)
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