Review Summary: What the hell...
Unto the Locust has got to be the most illogical metal release of all time.
a brief retrospective:
For six albums and nearly two decades, Machine Head had been producing almost without exception music that was lumpen, generic, juvenile, boring, cliched, flabby, uninspired, bland, forgettable, embarassing and ultimately worthless. This all culminated in one of the most overrated metal albums of all time,
The Blackening, an album which was made even more annoying by the fact that people were somehow buying Roadrunner's insidious hype machine. Save for a few notable exceptions which had stood out as displays of great songwriting (i.e. Descend the Shades of Night, The Burning Red, Halo), this band's discography had been an immense borefest.
And now, the strangest thing happens. After those six albums and almost two decades of almost nothing worthwhile, these guys, who are all well past their forties, somehow manage to make it work.
When I put on "Unto the Locust", I was cynically expecting it to suck massively, just as all Machine Head's previous "efforts", just so that I could give myself one more reason to ridicule the band. But what happened caught me entirely off guard. The opening track,
I am Hell, was rather good. More than good, actually, it was pretty awesome. Actually, it was pretty ***ing killer, as much as I was hesitant to admit it. Killer enough to prompt me to go on listening, this time with more attentive and respectful ears.
Well, six songs later, I had to concede that the band made it work this time. The album succeeds on pretty much every level. The songs are memorable and provide satisfactory variety. The lyrics aren't idiotic, hell, they're actually pretty deep and thoughtful for once, and are complemented by fitting vocal lines to boot. Robb Flynn's voice is more refined than ever. The instrumental work smashes, destroys, elevates, exhilarates, permeates – it's nothing short of masterful. The compositions are focused and smart. Yeah, the album just
works.
But that's merely adequacy, and only part of the reason why this album is really that good. Much more important is the fact that
Unto the Locust achieves beauty. That's right, beauty. Beauty in the instrumental work, beauty in the guitar and vocal harmonies, beauty in the often near-poeticism of the lyrics, beauty in the way the songs just breathe and take a life of their own, rather than feeling forced and contrived. Beauty in the redemptive, exalting, triumphant character of the songwriting. Finally Machine Head have created something that is their own, rather than a misguided imitation. Finally they have created something reminiscent of those majestic metal albums from the genre's golden years, that everyone loves, or at least respects. And like those albums, "Unto the Locust" will last.
"Unto the Locust" has its faults. After all, no album is perfect (except for, like,
Rust in Peace). But it doesn't matter. It's huge enough so that any petty blemishes that it might have can be excused, and are even welcome. Maybe this album will go down in history, maybe it won't. I hope that it will. But this way or that, I'm gonna give it a "5 – classic", even if it's only because it surprised the hell out of me, and pleasantly too. The Machine Head guys are pushing their mid-forties now. One can't help but feel slightly disappointed that they didn't create a monster like this before. Will they have the energy to amaze once more? I certainly hope so.
