When it comes to reviews and reviewing in general, much of what informs opinion and context is predicated on a band’s relative longevity, previous releases, gigs seen, comments made, proliferous (or not) media (paid or not) presence, interviews etc. etc. Having had the absolute privilege of contributing to Ave Noctum over the past few years, I have had the honour of reviewing the good the bad and the ugly and ultimately, it is only jotting down and sharing my own opinion of what I think of the music that squeezes itself through the wax in my ears. I have reviewed bands that have released their first EP without having played a gig, as well as bands on their umpteenth release, and so it comes to today’s head on the block, Machine Head. Now, I have previous with this band, having seen them on numerous occasions in small venues, gargantuan sized stadiums, and everything in between, I have interviewed their frontman Robb Flynn on the phone and in person several times, but I don’t think I have ever reviewed an album of theirs during their now ten-ton album career.
As with any band that have been around for as long as Machine Head have, there invariable are going to going to peaks and troughs in their musical output, given the band have had numerous line up changes, and have come close to imploding especially when they faced an uncertain future without a label and forced to self-promote themselves via self-made videos in an attempt for find a new home. And in referencing the subsequent peaks and thoughts, it certainly does not help when your debut album (1994’s ‘Burn My Eyes’) exploded like a hedgehog in a microwave, breathing life into a scene that was frankly dying on its arse back in 1994. Machine Head’s issue has often been its lack of quality control. For every good album, there seemed to be one or two moribund, tired, and overly thought out follow ups that seemed to destroy any momentum Flynn et al had managed to build. So, with ‘Of Kingdom and Crown’ proceeding their last album (2018’s Catharsis) which was as divisive, as it was horrendously ill conceived and written, and thus the stakes for Machine head MK3.0 could not be higher and with that sound of grinding metal echoing around the room, as critical knives are being sharpened, to the new album.
And right off the bat, this is a step change for Machine Head, with the album written as a conceptual story detailing love, loss, murder, and betrayal it is a brave decision, given the disastrous album that proceeded it. But…. I have to say, this is a real return to form. It retains enough of the old and the new of the band’s DNA, that judiciously coalesce into a collection of songs, that really works on several levels. How to summarise? Well, the quieter, stadium chanting and soaring harmonised vocals (which represent their later work) are all present and correct, but what Flynn has done, is rather than force these elements apart and keep them ringfenced from the thunderous pinched harmonics, grinding guitars and HUGE drums, that really kick you in the sternum, is to meld these elements together and have them working together rather than against themselves. I would also suggest that whilst Machine Head is very much Robb Flynn’s band in all aspects of its existence, that the introduction of Decapitated’s Vogg on guitar as well as the (on album) appearance of human drum machine Navene Koperweis of Animals as Leaders and Job for Cowboy, has pushed the quality and precision bar way up and given Flynn the kick up the arse that I believe he needed.
There are moments on this album that recall Machine Head’s earlier work, all vitriol flecked, barked vocals and barbarically heavy guitars that will keep the hoary old thrashers happy as they lay down alongside the band’s sweeter more gentle side, kissing and cuddling before the inevitable descent to a hard and fast sweaty fuck-fest, culminating in a simultaneous orgasm that puts a smile on everyone’s face. Look this isn’t (in my opinion) comparable (in parts) to the song quality present on say ‘Burn My Eyes’ or 2007’s’ ‘The Blackening’ but what it does represent, is a return to what Machine Head do best, and whilst they may not quite manage to usurp their illustrious past in quality terms, OFAK eradicates the foul taste left in the mouth by their more recent releases and serves notice to the world, that Machine Head are back motherfucker. Brutal, balletic, honest, and replete with a fucking huge production job, ‘Of Kingdom and Crown’ represents the rebirth of a band that were previously, whilst not quite on life support (see the ‘track’ ‘Overdose’), found themselves hanging from the cliff of irrelevance by their fingernails, but have managed to cling on whilst raising a middle finger to the world.
(8/10 Nick Griffiths)
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