Machine Head's latest album, Unto the Locust, released September 27 on Roadrunner Records, reflects well the musical growth and evolution of Machine Head over the course of their long career. It's an album that is certain to open the door to a whole new generation of Machine Head fans and still appeal to veteran fans as well. It's also a must-have in the catalogue of every metal musician, whether veteran or new-comer. A perfect paradigm of heavy, fast thrash, Unto the Locust is brutal in its delivery, yet it never jumps the tracks--the playing remains clean, tight and melodic throughout.
One of the most evident achievements of Unto the Locust is that Machine Head hasn't tried to reinvent the wheel. Rather, the band has gone back to its roots, creating an album that is amazing in its power and aggression, harkening back to the music that left an indelible mark on the genre and the world of music as a whole. The album is as fierce in its pile-driving aggression as Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power, as addictive and dynamic as Metallica's Black album, as explosive and complex as Slayer's Reign in Blood.
"I Am Hell," the first song on the album, is a wicked reminder of the epic, gothic metal that first dared to reach beyond the limits of chorus/hook song structures. It's music that creates an atmosphere of its own. Dark, thunderous, and filled with nightmarish allusions, these are songs that wrap themselves around the listener's imagination and transport them into another realm entirely.
With multiple build-ups and breakdowns, and an acoustic guitar solo bleeding into string orchestration, "I am Hell" is 8 1/2 minutes of the pure, raw power and aggression that thrash metal was born from. No one has produced anything like this since Slayer's "Raining Blood." Seriously. Unto the Locust opens with a song that is destined to become a thrash metal classic.
"Be Still and Know" and "Pearls Before the Swine" are totally packed with the kind of strongly anthemic, melodic metal that creates a pile-driving backbone as the album transitions with lightning speed through an amazing labyrinth of complex musical imagery.
However, as dynamic and rich in speed metal musicianship as it might be, Unto the Locust is an album that defies simple labeling by genre. It's very obvious that Machine Head has evolved within an expanded genre. Not only is it a full-on thrash assault, Unto the Locust clearly shows roots that run deep in the rhythmic hard rock-edged heavy metal of bands like Black Sabbath, Dio, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
Article comments