MACHINE HEAD — Unto the Locust (review)

MACHINE HEAD — Unto the Locust album cover

Album · 2011 · Groove Metal

4.5/5 · 2011-11-23
UMUR

"Unto the Locust" is the 7th full-length studio album by US thrash metal/alternative metal act Machine Head. The album was released in September 2011 by Roadrunner Records.

Machine Head have been on quite the rollercoaster ride since the release of their debut full-length studio album "Burn My Eyes (1994)", which received almost universal praise for it´s mix of thrash, groove metal and hardcore attitude. They put themselves firmly on the metal map with that release. The next couple of albums took the band´s music in a more alternative metal direction and were met with mixed reactions by fanbase and critics alike. Machine Head never lost momentum though and have remained commercially successful throughout the years. "Through the Ashes of Empires (2003)" took the music back to a more thrash/groove metal based sound which was further emphasised by the inclusion of lead vocalist/guitarist Robert "Robb" Flynn´s former Vio-lence bandmate Phil Demmel (lead guitars). Machine Head´s more thrashy direction was on full display on "The Blackening (2007)", where the band also challenged themselves with longer progressive song structures.

..."Unto the Locust" is yet another shift in sound even though the music sounds unmistakably like Machine Head. The basis in the music is groove based and heavy thrashy riffing, faster thrashy riffing, quite a few guitar harmonies and even some semi-neoclassical themes. The vocals by Robert "Robb" Flynn are raw and aggressive but with a melodic sensibility. His performance on this album is actually among his most varied and strongest IMO. Even his clean singing which hasn´t always been too successful to my ears, have improved greatly and is actually quite enjoyable when it appears on this album. The epic and actually quite beautiful "The Darkness Within" is the perfect example of that. Some fo the clean sung choruses remind me in style of the sound of artists like Trivium and Killswitch Engage, so while there are certainly a healthy dose of thrashy riffs to keep the more "old school" listener entertained, Machine Head are not content with sounding like a retro eighties thrash metal act. The style is efficiently eclectic.

While the tracks feature easily recognisable vers/chorus strucutures, all tracks feature multible sections and semi-progressive ideas. This is anything but formulaic. All 7 tracks on the 55:04 minutes long album exceed the 6 minute mark and Machine Head understand how to entertain their listeners with powerful memorable riffs and little details such as a children choir in "Who We Are" or Robert "Robb" Flynn singing a capella in the opening minutes of "I Am Hell".

The production is warm, fat and powerful. With a sound like this you can´t go wrong.

"Unto the Locust" is to my ears one of the top album releases of 2011. You´ll have to look hard for a more well composed, well performed and well produced album. "Unto the Locust" simply reeks class and a 4 - 4.5 star rating is fully deserved.