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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfection, 26 April 2007
This is the album I have always been waiting for, I knew this album was going to be good but I never imagined it would beat my expectations so much. When I heard that most the tracks are above seven minutes even ten minutes I was both excited and pessimistic as I was worried that I would get bored through a song and be waiting for the next track to start but this wasn't the case, each song was so intense and unique I enjoyed every second and before I realised it, it was the end of the album. Because of this I can't seem to get bored of the album and have found myself constantly listening to it over and over again.
In a way this album has taken all the best bits from the bands previous albums but at the same time it's something completely different, it's a storm of everything they have endured, an evolution in Machine head and in Metal.
The opening track "Clenching the fists of dissent" gives you the feel of the whole album just in the first minute, a totally epic start which blows everything away when the song kicks in. I found myself unable to stop head banging, its just one catchy riff after another. And then there was the solo, I don't know how they manage to come up with some of this stuff but the duelling solo's were immense and to top that it leads into a crowd chant which makes you feel like your about to go into battle. This track ends as heavy as it started when it kicked in, nice slow stomping feel as it fades out.
"Beautiful mourning" is the next track and one of my favourites, the opening riff is definitely in my top three for favourite riffs on the album. The start of this song is just carnage, no other way to put it; it would go down so well live. One part of this song I particularly loved was the melodic vocals in the pre-chorus which went into another heavy riff then back, really shows a great structure. Dave McClain definitely shows his skill in this track, very technical in parts and I loved the drum fill's during the "this is our last goodbye" vocal harmony. The solo in this track felt very reminiscing of a Burn my eyes style guitar solo, this in my opinion is good as it reminds us of that time and shows that they're still the same band and yet aren't sounding boring and as if all the new songs sound the same as the old, there all unique.
"Aesthetics of hate" has got to be the best tribute to Dimebag Darrell I have ever heard. I have so much respect for this band for the issues they cover and do so well, the song is loosely based on the guy who wrote vicious things about Dimebag on the internet "attacked the ways of a man not yet in his grave". Fastest track on the album, just heavy aggressive metal which just shows all their passion and angry towards what had happened. The harmony/solo part of the song really felt like a mourning for Dimebag "long live memories, live his freedom vicariously, defend tenfold, his honour we'll always uphold". The ending is just filled with every drop of aggression for the subject at hand and is expressed to well, a perfect ending to an amazing song.
"Now I lay thee down" is a very heart-felt song and the most melodic song on the album but this doesn't make it any less then the other tracks, it's in fact a very powerful song and another one of my favourites off the album. I loved the changes in dynamics, really brings out the atmosphere of the song and makes the verses seem really seductive. The band have really progressed with their guitaring ability and the melodic harmonies which they bridged together with solo's, this song is a good example of this. As I was saying before about this track not being any less then the others because of the melodic content, the part after solo's is what mostly justifies this statement, and then to finish the song another amazing chorus which seems even heavier as its reaching the climax before dying down.
"Slanderous" has got to be the catchiest track on the album, it just cries out for movement and if the band plays this live it's a guarantied circle pit song, so powerful. I really liked the lyrical content of this song and how it's about prejudice and the names and labels we are placed under.
The next track on the album is my favourite; "Halo" it's a song about anti-religion. I strongly believe in the lyrical content, I wont get into personal matters but lines like "this is our right to life, not religious rights act" really stand out to me. On the musical side of things I believe that this song is an instant anthem, easily along with davidian and imperium. The main verse riff with the traditional machine head style harmonic just stayed in my head for weeks and it's still in there now! This song has my favourite solo in it; it just has that "WOW!" factor to it which makes you want to rewind the track back to it.
"Wolves" is the next chapter in this heavy endeavour. It's a really groovy track with a great pulsing feel riff and beat through the verses, this starts to pick up as it goes into the chorus with some really sick guitar harmonized rhythm. The breakdown is so dark to start with and then it just opens up and explodes like a volcano right in your face! I think it's a hard choice to make of which song I'd like to hear live, but giving the nature of the song and the fact there isn't one part which wouldn't make you mosh or headbang or just go crazy in general, "carnage has no rules" well this song cries out for carnage I think.
"A farewell to arms" is the last Machine head track of the album and is an epic and a very emotion filled song. The tone of the song (mostly the start) reminded me of a couple of tracks from "Burn my eyes" which I liked. The dynamic changes throughout the track just made every single second un-miss able, it has everything, the slow soft melodic parts, the passionate melodic choruses and of course the heavy vocals of Mr. Rob Flynn we all love. This track was made for making tornado's in the crowd I think after hearing the interlude section after the second chorus, incredible is the only word to describe it especially when it leads into one of the best solo's I have ever(!!!) heard. This then leads into a groove filled riff which had a similar feel to the attitude the band had during "supercharger" and "through the ashes..." and to finish it all off a dramatic break down which leaves you wanting more but you can't so you listen to the album other again.
This album have definitely made a dramatic impact to me and I'm finding it hard to get tired of "The Blackening", its just an album which has set the bar higher for more things to come and other come. I thought it was a nice touch that they added their cover of Battery by Metallica. It is the closest to the real thing anyone is going to get and with the Machine head edge to it and the advancements in recording and mixing of these days I'm close to being blasphemous and saying its better then the original. But apart from that the whole album is spotless, there is nothing I didn't like about it and it is an absolute must buy.
I wish I could thank Machine head for writing such an amazing album but I guess I'll repay them by giving them everything I've got at their next show.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly the most audacious technical guitar album since master of puppets.., 13 Feb 2007
Make no mistake about it,Machine head have well and truly escaped the dungeons of the dying nu metal phase they had been tagged with in previous years. This album stands with its predecessors,Through the ashes of empires,and (probably the best debut metal album ever)burn my eyes, as a solid gold carat rock masterclass.
They have changed things considerably on this sixth album,however,in terms of structure and, best of all,guitar playing.The production is courtesy of brit Colin Richardsom,a man who REALLY knows his stuff in this department and was responsible for empire's sonic assault.The intro to this brisk,in terms of having only eight tracks,though also epic in terms of song structure(the opening and closing tracks alone last ten minutes each) sets the mood instantly-Clenching the fists of dissent has an intro similar to 'battery' from metallica's 86 classic master of puppets, and launches into a ferocious riff complete with signature tortured harmonics and the guttural roar of mr robb flynn.the guy is probably the most underrated frontman,and on this release he really lets loose,from 'aesthetics of hate'(written about the dimebag darrell article in conserv rag celebrating his death)to the often quite melodic 'halo'(and another quality solo there,it must be mentioned).
The difference is though,these songs have structure.its easy to make an eight minute 'guitar epic' when its just noise,thats how we have the pitiful likes of dragonforce and their interchangeable ilk churning out entire albums of similar dross.The blackenings songs DO have meaning,though first and foremost it is an album that guitar fanatics/complete second wave thrash fanatics( this reviewer belongs to the latter camp,for those of us that wish for a return of pantera,sepultura et al in this age of,er,trivium and a7*)will utterly flock to in rejoice.above all that, everything just sounds RIGHT.Immense production,breakneck drum sound(as always from mr dave mcclain,kudos) the unmistakable bass breakdown of adam duce,(the man who dispels the notion that machine head is flynn,since he was also an original member) and demmel turns the new-boy tag on its head,playing on his second classic machine head album and truly a forceful guitar player in their arena tours.critics lucky enough to get advance copies(such as myself) are already describing it as one of the greatest thrash releases of all time.Certainly in the 21st century,with Pantera gone and the 'big four''s stock diminishing with lesser recent albums(with the possible exception of anthrax,whose 'we've come for you all' was superb in 2003),Machine head are certainly at the forefront of all things metal.These eight epic,tortured guitar masterpieces should provide the centrepiece for a fantastic live tour this year.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All time best machine head album,
I've been a massive fan of machine head for some time now and have listened to pretty much every song they've ever recorded. I have to say this album is what all machine head fans have been waiting for. It is the definition of machine head. It is an accumulation of the best parts of everything they are known and loved for from the last 15 years of their career.
Machine head have finally achieved their masterpiece. Ashes came close and had a lot of promising tracks, mini epics such as `imperium' or `bite the bullet' were awesome headbangers which you could listen to again and again, without getting bored, but they didn't make up for some of the weaker tracks on the album. The blackening surpasses any machine head album to date. I would even go as far as to say this is better than burn my eyes.
People try and draw parallels between machine head and some other bands around today. Just because a couple of riffs from songs on the blackening sound similar to bands like Trivium means absolutely nothing when the album is viewed as a whole. This album makes most metal bands on the scene today look shoddy and for me MH are ushering in a new era in metal. This is truly groundbreaking stuff which many big metal bands of today will struggle to follow. Machine head have reinstated themselves as the leaders of the genre and I personally don't see them loosing this position for some time.
The guitar and vocal harmonies on the blackening are bigger and better than those found on any machine head tracks to date. The sheer number of riffs crammed into each of these songs is unholy. Tracks such as 'clenching the fists of dissent' have a signature MH style but turned up several notches. The blackening is fast, furious, relentless and constitutes some of the most well structured well written music i have ever heard.
I could not recommend this album more highly.
I will warn you once you get this album you won't be able to stop listening to it. It kicks some serious ass!
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