Review Summary: Album of the year.....maybe album of the decade.
Perfection. Few albums have reached this state of being flawless, memorable and enjoyable works of art. Metallica’s Master of Puppets, Radiohead’s OK Computer, and even Nas's Illmatic explain what a perfect album truely is. Nowadays, perfection is rarely found in music... until now.
Machine Head are a heavy metal band from Oakland, California who has sometimes been coined as "The Modern Day Pantera" with their style of groove metal. Their existence began in 1994 with the release of their debut album Burn My Eyes and continued with a not-so-successful career. However, in 2007, they started gaining popularity with the release a modern day metal marvel, The Blackening. With songs like "Halo", "Aesthetics of Hate" and "Clenching the Fists of Dissent", they raised the bar higher with their epic songs and creative songwriting. When they announced that they were going to release a new album in 2011, people were wondering “how can create anything better than The Blackening?” Now with the release of "Unto the Locust" the answer is pretty obvious: they have raised the bar even higher once more.
Rob Flynn, vocalist and guitarist, along with the rest of Machine Head wanted to create an album entirely different from their last. By taking classical guitar and vocal lessons, it was clear that they weren't aiming for The Blackening Part II. From the very first song to the last, the album showcases different styles that were not present in their older albums.
Acoustic guitars in "Darkness Within", "This is the End" and “Who We Are" show a much softer, melodic side to the band. However, the softer sides of this album are blended perfectly with heavy, harsh moments, shown in "Locust", "Pearls Before the Swine", and "Be Still and Know".
The musicianship of the albums is probably the strongest part of the album. Rob Flynn and Phil Demmel is probably the best guitar duo, next to the boys from Metallica and Megadeth. Their phenomenal playing includes blistering solos and epic set pieces. Adam duce's bass is perfectly incorporated into the mix. Then there is Dave McClain. While listening to the drums, the one word that comes to mind is: incredible. He’s is a true genius at his instrument. Double bass is found throughout the album and it incredible to hear what this man can do behind a drum set. The lyrics, mostly by Rob Flynn, are just great. They are sometimes philosophical, clever, and intelligent.
The only downside, however, is that the album includes only 7 songs (10 songs in the deluxe version). Even with 7 songs, the album clocks in at 50 minutes long, but you will be begging for more. The 50 minutes go by so fast that the 8 minute epic “I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)” will go by in the blink of an eye.
With the choir singing "Sangre Sani" at the beginning of "I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)" to the band member's children singing the chorus to "Who We Are", this is unlike anything Machine Head has ever done before. This album does not lose its luster even after 100 listens. This is, without a doubt, Album Of The Year.
5/5
