Album Review: Machine Head – UNATØNED (Nuclear Blast)

For over three decades, the personification of determination, founder/vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn, has led Bay Area icons Machine Head on an uncompromising path – one fuelled by defiance, reinvention, and a relentless pursuit of evolution. UNATØNED, the band’s eleventh album, will be unleashed to the world on April 25th via Nuclear Blast Records.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Machine Head are back, and with this brand-new album, the legendary head bangers have embraced parts of their past to deliver something vitriolic, intense, melodically charged, and accessibly relevant. Machine Head continue to push forward, even when looking back, and UNATØNED will certainly get fans talking. It just not might be always in the most positive of ways.

Still, it is an interesting album. Interesting because it is varied, interesting because it doesn’t follow any pre-established formula, and interesting because it sounds like a Machine Head with ideas. It just so happens that sometimes that results in something really unexpected. Will it please everyone? Definitely not, but it will please a lot of Machine Head fans, especially those with a more open mind. Which is something needed when listening to this record.

Let’s clear this up right away. I like this album, I don’t love it, but I haven’t loved a Machine Head album for quite some time now. I massively appreciate the band though, and overall, love their extensive discography. I just don’t think they’ve really been that creative in recent times, and if I am honest, UNATØNED isn’t that creative.

That being said though, I had fun here, and several tracks are Machine Head bangers that will be on repeat all year. Early on we get a couple of them, namely ATØMIC REVELATIØNS and UNBØUND. Following a pointless intro called LANDSCAPE ØF THØRNS. The former is a raucous and energised heavyweight listen with cleverly layered melodies and low, clean vocals that sound great. Whereas the latter’s main riff is solid f**king gold. Those cleans are so reminiscent of Machine Head of old, and when complimented by furious growls and frantic instrumentation, the result is satisfying.

when I used the word accessible before? Well, the proof is with ØUTSIDER. Machine Head at their most ‘radio friendly’, which might make you shiver in fear, but rest assured that this one is going to get jammed in your head regardless of your feeling on its quality. Less so with NØT LØNG FØR THIS WØRLD though, which has a slower rocked up tempo with layers of unimpressive symphonic tones and vocals that are pretty boring. A lacklustre guitar solo caps off a track that I just don’t like. Machine Head have also delivered big, thought-provoking, and emotional efforts on their albums alongside the heavy stuff so I can see what they were trying to do here, but in the end, it’s just such an ordinary effort.

The speed and heaviness is back with aplomb as THESE SCARS WØN’T DEFINE US has Flynn spitting some fire on the vocals. This banger is such a crowd pleaser and I can see it going down well live, especially as the chorus is a hell of a singalong. It’s the kind of track that reenergises the mind, body, and spirit so it’s such a shame that the next track is DUSTMAKER, a frustratingly pointless mid-point instrumental break that feels completely out of place. It is jarring, breaking focus and immersion, meaning you feel upended as BØNESCRAPER arrives with big grooves and heavy riffs. Thankfully this is a fairly straight-forward anthemic heavy head banger that nails its chorus.

Unfortunately, that was the last high point and it’s all a bit ‘up and down’ from this point onwards. There’s the tepid and forgettable ADDICTED TØ PAIN, a Machine Head track that would have been unremarkable on Supercharger. Then there’s BLEEDING ME DRY, a chuggy retro-fueled effort with nice melody, but one that is overly long and lacking a killer hook. Before the album limps to the finish line with the head-scratching old-school elements of SHARDS ØF SHATTERED DREAMS and the predictable melodrama of SCØRN. A likable end to the album, even if, once again, it doesn’t feel particularly special.

That’s the summation of this album, I think. It just doesn’t feel that special, and the positives of the album are being heavily weighed down by the negatives, of which there are many. Some of these tracks are going to be loved, but many are going to be completely forgotten about way before the year is over.

Machine Head – UNATØNED Track Listing:

1. LANDSCAPE ØF THØRNS
2. ATØMIC REVELATIØNS
3. UNBØUND
4. ØUTSIDER
5. NØT LØNG FØR THIS WØRLD
6. THESE SCARS WØN’T DEFINE US
7. DUSTMAKER
8. BØNESCRAPER
9. ADDICTED TØ PAIN
10. BLEEDING ME DRY
11. SHARDS ØF SHATTERED DREAMS
12. SCØRN

Links

Website | Facebook | Instagram