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Robb Flynn is one pissed off dude. Machine Head’s music
hasn’t ever been confused with being sunny, but on their
sixth studio release, The Blackening, the Bay Area
band takes aggression to a new level. There’s plenty
to be angry about in the world today, and Flynn channels his
strong emotions into his most adventurous musical journey
to date. A mere eight songs clock in at a hefty 61 minutes.
Two tracks top the 10-minute mark, and two more surpass nine
minutes. You need to bring your A game to hold the listener’s
attention over such lengthy pieces, and Machine Head does
exactly that.
The most immediately striking song is “Aesthetics of
Hate,” which, at 6:35 , is one of the album’s
shorter selections. Flynn wrote it in response to an article
titled “Aesthetics of Hate: R.I.P. Dimebag Darrell,
Goodbye & Good Riddance” by William Grim published
on the web site The Iconoclast following Dimebag’s
murder. Flynn’s vitriol for Grim pours out of the speakers
simultaneously with his love and respect for Dimebag as he
cries out, “For the love of brother/I will say these
fucking words/No silence against ignorance/Iconoclast, I hope
you burn in hell.” Later, he menacingly whispers, “May
the hand of God strike them down.” This is powerful,
passionate stuff.
On the opener, “Clenching the Fists of Dissent,”
Flynn rails against the U.S. government (“There’s
something fucking wrong/When war takes sons and daughters/Our
lambs misled to slaughter”) while acknowledging that
he doesn’t have the answers to our many complex problems
(“Didn’t say believe in me/Just hold the common
ground”). “Slanderous” is a more personal
statement against the ignorance Flynn has encountered and
of how he has drawn strength from it (“I’m a meth
head and alkie/Dumb cunt been called a junkie/A retard and
a pussy/And I embrace the names you call me”), but his
rage is no less—never have the words “I love you”
sounded so intimidating. On “Halo,” Flynn takes
aim at the Religious Right (“Halo over our demise/Following
a god so blind/Swallow in their sickness/Swallow not, the
shit they feed”). The dirge-like closer, “A Farewell
to Arms,” seems to sum up all that has preceded it,
with Flynn plaintively asking, “Who has won?”
Musically, The Blackening, is virtually flawless.
As a producer, Flynn brings the same focus he has a lyricist.
It starts with the heavy, groove-laden riffs and extends to
the incendiary soloing of Flynn and lead guitarist Phil Demmel—this
album is a shredder’s paradise. Beneath the guitars,
the foundation of drummer Dave McClain and bassist Adam Duce
hold it all together. The band varies volume and tempo to
dynamic effect. Vocally, Flynn shows a wide range, as well;
growling, shouting, whispering, singing—he does it all.
Fifteen years after their formation and 13 years after the
breakthrough success of Burn My Eyes, Machine Head
is stronger than ever. They stole the show recently when I
saw them share a bill with Lamb of God and Trivium, and The
Blackening is one of the best metal albums of the last
several years.
®2007 Live-Metal.net
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