Music

[Review] Machine Head ‘Unto The Locust’

Published

13 years ago

September 24, 2011

Around for nearly 20 years, Machine Head have been tearing up the metal scene and have earned themselves a place amongst the titans of metal. Their dedication, progression, and consistently intense albums make for a metal band that well deserves the communities respect and admiration. Now, with their 7th studio album, Unto The Locust, Machine Head is again treading into new territories to deliver a metal album that shocks and awes the listener with its intensity and ferocity. However, have they succeeded or fallen flat? Check after the jump for the answer.

Opening with I Am Hell (Sonata in C#), the album beings with vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn’s voice harmonized in a beautiful a cappella arrangement that calls to mind a less creepy, more beautiful version of The Omen’s Ave Satani. The song then dives into violent thrash metal that hits like a thousand hammers against your eardrums. To say that this kicks off the album in the right way is an understatement. The a cappella arrangement is a foreshadowing of the classical arrangements that pepper the album while the metal is unbelievably heavy and got me full of unholy energy.

The production is fantastic. Each instrument stands toe-to-toe with each other. The bass lays a solid foundation and is clearly heard. The drums are fierce and tight, the cymbals crisp and shimmering. The guitars harmonize wonderfully and are mixed in such a way that each harmony and melody stands out. Finally, the vocals are in the front of the mix but not enough so as to seem separate from the rest of the music. This album begs to be played on a solid sound system. Loudly, I might add.

Be Still And Know has a chorus that drips of pain and despair yet has a ring of hope. Locust, which has been out for a while, still kicks my ass every time the verse riff kicks in. Robb Flynn, who has admitted to taking classical guitar lessons over the past few years, shows his talents in this endeavor in the beginning of This Is The End. The only track that stands out as peculiar is the final track, Who We Are, which sounds more optimistic than the previous fare. However, it ends the album with a positive note that is sorely needed in the metal scene these days.

The Final Word: Machine Head has delivered seven tracks of blistering metal with Unto The Locust. If you are a metal fan, this is a must-have album.

JonathanBarkan

Managing editor/music guy/social media fella of Bloody-Disgusting

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Music

“He Walks By Night” – Listen to a Brand New John Carpenter Song NOW!

Published

1 week ago

April 9, 2024

John Squires

It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.

Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.

Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.

“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.

“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”

You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…