Kingcrimsonprog
Machine Head’s fourth studio album Supercharger was released in 2001 to a reaction of almost universal disapproval. The album has since grown a reputation as an absolutely awful album to avoid at all costs.
Personally, I think that this was a bit of an overreaction. I like the album and think more people would too if they gave it a fair chance. Admittedly, the choice of direction that the band had taken (inclusion of rapping and nu metal influences etc) wasn’t what anyone wanted from Machine Head.
The band have since rectified their direction with the albums which would follow however, and I think a lot of people need to take a fresh look at Supercharger. People were too busy disapproving of Machine Head playing nu metal to objectively judge the actual collection of songs on the album and the album just became the sort of cool-to-hate album that people feel the need to stick the boot into.
The album is by no means the best Machine Head album, but nor is it the disgusting mess it has been made out to be. There are a few great tracks on the album, most notably ‘BullDozer,’ ‘Trephination,’ and the title track, all of which may contain some of the more distasteful calling cards of the time, but all of which also contain enough of the classic Machine Head style to warrant reinvestigation. They are heavy, have a lot of groove to them and are generally just good songs.
Even if you only like very heavy music, a few of the less classic Machine Head sounding tracks are fun and unobjectionable and you should listen with a more open mind, people place too much importance on their metal credibility and miss out on good music like this as a result.
While I may be defending the album, it is still worth pointing out that the lyrics are a little cringeworthy in places, the song structures may follow the quiet/loud structure that was popular at the time and there aren’t the same caliber of guitar solos and dual leads to be found on newer Machine Head albums.
Supercharger is no masterpiece, that much may be true. I would really not recommend this album to be your first Machine Head album, but don’t blindly write it off forever without judging it for yourself either. There are better Machine Head albums out there to be sure, but if you have already listened to them, Supercharger can add a few more decent tracks to your collection.