I thought "Supercharger" was a tolerable record, better than "The Burning Red" before it. But of course, like most people, I stopping paying much attention to Machine Head after "Burn My Eyes" and "The More Things Change" (two records that I still quite enjoy to this day). Well, whether or not bringing in Robert Flynn's former Vio-lence bandmate Phil Demmel on guitar has anything to do with it or not, this is the best record the band has done in years. Yes, it's still got its faults, but opening track "Imperium" not only contains a ripping Swedish-tinged melodic thrash riff about five minutes in, but opens with some layered clean and distorted guitars that sound eerily similar to one or two of the intros from the better tracks on the group's debut some 10 years ago. The biggest difference between this record and the last two is that the writing is heavier and more focused, there's not as many little rocked out parts or crappy guitar effects and shit. The singing is a lot better as well. "Elegy" does open up with a weird, sludgy sort of heavy rock groove; "All Falls Down" is a mediocre track (with an awesome fucking chorus that should've been used in a better framework) full of the fiddly effects and whatnot that sort of killed "Supercharger"; but there aren't any terrible songs on this record by a stretch. The seven-minute "In the Presence of My Enemies" takes a minute or so to build up into a damn solid cut with plenty of the band's trademark modern thrash rhythms and a strong chorus, not to mention some of their token harmonics. Four minutes in there's a cool lead break over a clean passage, later building into a modified faster rhythm that has more of a true thrash sort of edge, plus some awesome vocal tradeoffs. "Days Turn Blue to Gray" is 50/50 for me, because I fucking love the verse part, and the heavier riffing is cool, but there are a few really weak riffs that hold it back. And the ending passage, which I actually like a lot, is fucked up by the use of this annoying effect on one of the guitar lines that makes it sound all choppy and sort of flubbed, when in actuality it's not at all. I don't know, it's a good song that could've been fucking amazing were a few decisions made differently. Closer "Descend the Shades of Night" opens with acoustic guitars (a strummed rhythm with harmonized leads) and soft singing that creates a very uncharacteristic atmosphere for Machine Head, but once the distortion kicks in this is probably the most powerful track on this fucker. I'm all for it: Crushingly midpaced heaviness, an awesome and truly memorable chorus, a great melodic lead... and even though it borders on eight minutes it's never boring. The recording kills. The core rhythm guitar tone is absolutely fucking pristine: Heavy as fuck, perfectly clear... I love it. The bass is evident as well, thickening things in general and on occasion becoming more defined to stand out a bit. The drums are very resonant despite having a little bit of clickiness going on, and the vocals sound as good as ever. I don't have any real complaints at all there. I think the layout looks great. There's no text on the cover, the band photos are tasteful, few colors are used, the text is all nice and consistently arranged, there are several cool photographs of graveyard statues, etc. The best part is under the tray, a tombstone that reads, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." Nice. The lyrics are all personal, quite bitter, some of course stronger than others: "Tearless my eyes, Flowerless my hands, And that day when your moment is fleeting, That fact keeps my heart beating, And when they lower your casket down, Bitter the sweet within my mouth..." Overall this is a really good start at a return to form for the band. Trimming the fat as far as the length of a few tracks or maybe removing a few unnecessary compositions could've made for a more enjoyable listening experience, but I definitely dig this in large part. Good stuff.
[Roadrunner]
Running time - 53:39, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Imperium, In the Presence of My Enemies, Descend the Shades of Night]
Roadrunner Records - http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com
