Machine Head - Of Kingdom and Crown (2022)^{Release ID: 39364}

2018 was a rough year for Machine Head. Catharsis was a really bad album that managed to unite people on both sides of political spectrum in just how shitty of an activist Rob Flynn is. Lyrics that sounded like they were written by a Tumblr user, but were instead written by a 50 year old man, all performed over an alternative/nu metal soundscape that was the farthest thing from pleasing to the metal ear, or conforming to the Machine Head sound. Now I stood up for that album four year ago, claiming that there were some serviceable songs that maintained the Machine Head identity, while still pushing the boundaries of what this band could sound like (i.e. "Heavy is the Crown" and "Kaleidoscope"), while other experiments just spectacularly failed.

And so, it should come as zero surprise that following a release cycle that almost ended this band, the new Machine Head album, ØF KINGDOM AND CRØWN is a return to form (somewhat) for the band. It's groove centric, melodies are limited but respectable, dueling guitar solos make a triumphant return, and the overall intensity matches that of The Blackening and Unto the Locust. 

One thing that Machine Head maintained from those previous recording sessions were extended runtimes. This is not all too unfamiliar in Machine Head's discography, but this album can be a slog at times. The opening track "SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR" is ten and a half minutes, but could have easily been suppressed to seven and said the same amount. When the album is at its best, Machine Head is calling back to an older sound, while still allowing for some alternative metal ideas to slip in; primarily in the vocal leads. "MY HANDS ARE EMPTY" and "UNHALLØWED" both do this with slower grooves and more somber delivery.

Perhaps that's because the previous songs are both closer to deathcore of all things! Machine Head have been no stranger to breakdowns in their music, but here they feel out of place and extremely unnecessary. Whether it be the dissonant chuggs of "CHØKE ØN THE ASHES ØF YØUR HATE", which also return on the closer "ARRØWS IN WØRDS FRØM THE SKY", or the unnatural tempo shift on "BECØME THE FIRESTØRM". Then there are the lyrics, which thank god are infinitely improved from Catharsis. There is some genuine reflection here that has allowed Rob Flynn to choose his words carefully in order to make an impact and possibly change people. But then "KILL THY ENEMIES" comes on and I hear Flynn speak about white privilege, fascists and cultists and I just tune out. What's more infuriating is that the narrator honestly believes that they are the good guy here when they unironically speak: "I'm asking you to heed the call, kill thy enemies". Whose side are you on: those who say naughty words, or those who carry the blood of their enemies on their hands joyously?

To say this album is an improvement from Catharsis is like saying 2022 has been a better year than 2020. Machine Head would have had to included the sounds of killing puppies and a dramatic reading of Mein Kampf to make an album worse than Catharsis. But that does not mean ØF KINGDOM AND CRØWN is a great album. It sounds more like Machine Head and the experimentation is not alienating to fans, but a lack of fat trimming, less than their best melodies and grooves and questionable lyricism makes it more lukewarm than anything else. The emperor may have a fig leaf, but he is still naked.

Best Songs: MY HANDS ARE EMPTY, UNHALLØWED, NØ GØDS, NØ MASTERS, BLØØDSHØT

My recent feature nomination of Machine Head's comeback album The Blackening, alerted me to the fact that Rob Flynn and friends had a new release out.  Following the terrible Catharsis was always going to go one of two ways, with Flynn either again raising his middle finger to the metal world and doing another nu-metal soaked release or instead choosing to drop some more familiar sounding MH material from their more groove metal days.  Hearing that Of Kingdom and Crown was a concept album immediately peaked some intrigue with me as (Burn My Eyes aside) the releases that I enjoy more from the band over the last twenty years or so have been the ones with the longer, better structured tracks (Imperium, Locust, Halo etc), so the prospect of a concept album should increase the opportunity of such structures, right?

Nope, it does not.  Aside from album opener Slaughter the Martyr which clocks in at over ten minutes and is bloated to say the least, the majority of OKaC lacks anything in the way of expansion.  What it does do - in order to answer the question above of which way has Flynn gone this time - is pick up right where The Blackening left off, adding requisite amounts of Unto the Locust and Bloodstone & Diamonds into the mix along the way.  I do not know whether the phrase "a return to form" is valid though.  A more accurate description feels to be that Machine Head have not failed twice in a row and whether you deem the album to be a success or not depends largely on if you agree that avoiding failure is a success.

Sound wise this is like the old MH line-up is back in place, which considering this is just Rob Flynn and some new members seems a little odd.  Ex-Decpaitated and Vader (live) shredder, Vogg does not strike me as being given much in the way of room to stretch his legs and it might just as well be Demmel there alongside Flynn on guitar.  Similarly, Alston behind the kit might as well be McClain, such is the familiarity of the sound here.  This is not to say that all nu-metal influence has been dropped altogether from OKaC.  Still bits seep through the core, stylistic groove metal that now dominates proceedings again, however there are a few surprises along the way.  The blackened, melodic death metal riff of Become the Firestorm for example caught me off guard, unfortunately so did the awful clean singing that briefly punctuates an otherwise perfectly acceptable song with some unnecessary elements of cringe before we get a decidedly nu-metal sounding melodic section to set up the ferocious lead work.

The album also has three interludes which do nothing for me.  If you are balls deep in the storyline (which it will surprise nobody to hear that I am not) then I guess they add value for you, otherwise they are just distractions and detractions from the flow of the record.  There is also too much of a reflective element to the record also.  Chanting intros and clean singing are a skill to place in any metal record and here they just do not work.  I would be far happier to just enjoy the intensity of the tempo and get my fill of groove metal riffs as opposed to hearing Flynn explore his vocal range.  In short more of the riffs on Unhallowed as opposed to the hazy singing please.

And so to the scores on the doors.  In all honesty I struggle to give OKaC a low score. Based on the step up from Catharsis and the odd nostalgic pillow I always seem to rest my head on when I revisit any of the bands past releases, OKaC hits enough references from the groove metal days to satisfy me.  The obvious cries out for mainstream accessibility (such as the aforementioned Unhallowed) still annoy the hell out of me though and nostalgia is not usually something that I allow to excuse mediocrity.  Three stars seems reasonable under the circumstance as whilst I acknowledge the improvements made from the previous release there is still some way to go.