Review Summary: Disappøintment
Machine Head is a band that, for better or worse, lives and dies by frontman Robb Flynn's stylistic forays. Drifting across many lanes along the heavy metal highway, some may say this Oakland quartet has an affinity for innovation, while others may say they're in a perpetual trend-chasing identity crisis. But whether you consider Machine Head's direction, or lack thereof, as a strength or a weakness, there's one cardinal question with every release: is it any good? Unfortunately, Machine Head's "Unatoned" has neither the adrenaline-fueled songwriting of their exceptional works, nor the comic relief of their sub-optimal ones, leaving us with the band's dullest effort to date.
While Machine Head has had many releases of varying quality, they've at least been memorable, albeit often for the wrong reasons. Regarding this latest record, I can't recall listening to a metal album with such profound indifference. This is primarily fueled by Flynn's vocal delivery, which quite frankly has never sounded so uninspired. The band has certainly proven their ability to make a grand entrance, with rippers such as "Davidian", "Clenching the Fists of Dissent", "Ten Ton Hammer", and "I Am Hell" to name a few, but "Atømic Revelatiøns" just falls absurdly flat. It's as if Robb got out of bed, dawned some half-moon spectacles, poured himself a cup of coffee and walked right into the vocal booth to perform. The verses are delivered with the exhilaration of an encyclopedia audio book, and the choruses sound like he's literally about to fall asleep mid-sentence.
Perhaps the vocal offenses wouldn't be so noticeable were it not for past output, but the seemingly non-existent aggression behind the harsh delivery, and the plodding monotony of the cleans simply can't be ignored. I've never considered Robb to be an exceptional vocalist, but never once has the passion seemed so razor-thin. It's a blemish that hampers the entire record, with everything from the undercooked Motörhead-worship of "Shards Øf Shattered Dreams", to the Disturbesque sap-rock of "These Scars Wøn't Define Us", to the Alice in Chains snoozer homage of "Nøt Løng Før This Wørld" coming across painfully bland. There are clean passages in "Scørn" that show glimmers of potential, but they come far too late to salvage much enjoyment, and frankly they're at the service of a bafflingly uninteresting composition. The lyrics also come up short, suffering from the same juvenile monotony we've come to expect from the band's recent output. While I don't doubt they come from a very personal place, I feel like lyrics can be served up better than the following:
"There's no pain without living life
This liquor helps cope with the strife
We talked of you being my wife
Picket fences, some kids, and two bikes
But all that was a fantasy lost in our haze
Through all of the weed smoke and piles of cocaine
A pharmacy of Vicodin, Percs, refillers
You and I were worst friend's best painkillers"
While vocals are the most glaring issue, they're certainly not the record's only pitfall. Robb's work would be far more palatable if they came at the service of catchy songwriting and fun riffage, but sadly those are both sorely missed as well. Virtually every track is embroiled in undeveloped stylistic ideas, by-the-numbers songwriting, or both. The corny arena rock chants of "Bønescraper" don't pair well with the drug-fueled ravings of "Bleeding Me Dry", the repetitive chugs of "Unbøund", or the bizarre electronic-infused nothingness of "Scørn". There are some good guitar solos peppered throughout, notably in my personal favorite track "Addicted to Pain", and the drumming is serviceable, but those aspects aren't enough to elevate the compositions beyond much more than passable.
The production also leaves a lot to be desired, especially the drums which are completely gutted of punch on the kick and snare. It's as if they left the mics in the hallway with the drum room door open, got a single take, then tried to rescue the tracks in some twisted over-quantized nightmare. The lack of bass in the mix also saps the album of heaviness, which wouldn't be as big of a deal if the songs weren't so arduously repetitive and predictable. They've also shoehorned in enough awkward electronic samples to make Bad Omens blush, injecting what I presume was an attempt at "modernization", but ultimately just detracts from the aims of grit and heaviness.
Although "Unatoned" isn't exactly a terrible record, it's certainly a disappointing record. With a band as capable of crafting metal masterworks such as "Burn My Eyes" and "The Blackening", alongside comedic masterpieces "Catharsis" and "Supercharger", it's easy to see why this latest offering pales in comparison. Presuppositions aside, I hope Robb finds the inspiration to craft another album we know he can. It's far better to be entertained, for whatever reason, than to be bored by the best intentions. I wouldn't recommend this to any Machine Head skeptics, but it may appease some of the diehard fans. Thank you for reading!
