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Machine Head: Through the ashes of empires

10/04/09 || Smalley

Machine Head has been through so much, so fast, I get dizzy just contemplating it; first exploding onto the scene with 1994’s groove metal classic “Burn my eyes”, their follow-up record, “…The more things change”, divided listeners between those who found it a solid sophomore effort, and those who called it a re-hash of “Burn” (I fall in the former category, myself). Then came “The burning red” in ’99, and a disastrous detour into nu-metal, rapping, and hideous Day-Glo dye hair. This time, almost everyone agreed the album was pretty much worthless. 2001’s “Supercharger” was even lamer, so lame, in fact, that it got Machine Head kicked off of the Roadrunner roster for disappointing sales, and almost caused the band to call it quits. Fortunately, front man Rob Flynn managed to bring his old band mate from Vio-Lence, Phil Demmel, in as a guitarist in 2003, and that same year, Machine Head went to record what may have been their very last chance at redemption with “Through the ashes of empires”. So… how’d they do?

“Imperium” starts things off with soft but ominous guitar strokes, which eventually boil over into punishing riffing and thunderous drumming that’s so loud, it reminds one of the shotgun blasts mentioned on “Davidian”. Accordingly, Rob’s vocals, while still very tuneful during the clean sections, are overall much rougher and more passionate here than on the previous two records, proving that this isn’t the Machine Head that thought recording a cover of “Message in a bottle” was a good idea. But, despite the band’s newly re-discovered punch, “Imperium” does have a few problems, such as a chorus that falls kind of flat, a run time that lasts a little too long, etc.

Still, a good way to open up the album, especially to reprove those who had been doubting Machine Head’s ability to rock the past five years, and “Bite the bullet” is an almost perfect follow-up, with a great rhythm and, if not the most intricate guitar work, then at least some of the best-sounding this band has ever recorded (in fact, that’s true of many of the tracks here; the guitars often sound just extraordinary).

“Left unfinished” has some potential, with decent riffage and a nice tempo, but the
“pity me, I had a shit childhood” lyrics ultimately grate the nerves far too much. Leave that crap to Linkin Park, guys. Anyway, the track inconsistency mentioned so far unfortunately only continues for the remainder of “Ashes”; if we get an “Elegy”, which rocks almost as hard as anything off of Head’s first two albums, something like the draggy and over-long “In the presence of my enemies” will follow it up. Speaking of follow-ups, “Days turn blue to grey” follows that track up, and, despite having more of that “I hate my parents” nonsense on it, it still manages to be pretty good, due to a groovy, crushing main riff, and a great chorus.

“Vim” ironically turns out to be lacking in just that, and is another draggy track, and the same pretty much goes for “Seasons wither”, which was the bonus track that America received for getting “Ashes” in 2004, a year after Europe got it. Some bonus, eh? Anyway, the home stretch of “Ashes” is really quite good, even though the penultimate track, “Wipe the tears”, falls flat. The tracks surrounding that one are excellent, with “All falls down” having an heavy, eerie groove, and “Descend the shades of night” closing things on a high note, with poetic lyrics that contemplate death, and a painfully emotional vocal performance from Robb. It starts off with a simple acoustic guitar melody, and only becomes more powerful as it gets heavier. It’s a wonderful, wonderful way to close the album out, and, being the longest track here, more than earns the right to its length…

So in the end, despite the welcome move back towards Machine Head’s roots, the good elements on this disc are still held back some by the nu metal touches, as well as the other avoidable mis-steps that Machine Head commits. Yes, the drumming is energetic and crisply-produced, the bass sounds good, Robb’s vocals, for the most part, are strong, the riffs sound good and are quite heavy, and so on… you really can sense the band playing their hearts out. Unfortunately, their heads weren’t being used quite as much here, so ultimately, “Ashes” is an inconsistent comeback effort. But just think of this as “How Machine Head got their groove back (sort’ve)”, and be thankful for receiving at least that, instead of something like “Supercharger”; I know I am…

7.5 resurrections from the ashes of nu metal out of 10.

Information
Released: 2004
Label: Roadrunner Records
Website: www.machinehead.com
Machine Head
Robb Flynn: vocals, guitar
Phil Demmel: guitar
Adam Duce: bass
Dave McClain: drums

Tracklist
01. Imperium
02. Bite the bullet
03. Left unfinished
04. Elegy
05. In the presence of my enemies
06. Days turn blue to gray
07. Vim
08. Seasons wither
09. All falls down
10. Wipe the tears
11. Descend the shades of night

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