Review by Daniel for Machine Head - The Blackening (2007)

I have an admission to make. Despite being aware of Californian groove head establishment since the very beginning of their recording career & having seen them perform live in years gone past, this is the only Machine Head record I’ve ever listened to in full before now. This omission is a little unusual as I usually pride myself on my willingness to step outside of my musical comfort zone in the interest of maintaining the broadest knowledge of metal music I possibly can, perhaps being driven by my Metal Academy responsibilities in recent years if I’m being completely honest. I was certainly aware of the significant impact that Machine Head made on the metal scene with their 1994 debut album “Burn My Eyes” & I know the bigger tracks on that record by heart thanks to the consistent exposure I received from other parties at the time but the early 90’s groove metal explosion perhaps didn’t have the same impact on me that it did other metal fans as I was already well & truly immersed in extreme metal. Was I missing out? Well, if “The Blackening” is an elite example of the genre then I’d suggest that I didn’t as I still struggle a bit with the lack of substance & the general focus on macho posturing but I can’t deny that this is a decent metal record & my score here reflects that.

I do appreciate the tight performances from the band & the solid, chunky production which does a good job at highlighting the strengths of the individual musicians. There’s still a truckload of Pantera influence in Machine Head’s sound even all these years later with Rob Flynn’s vocals sounding uncannily like he’s trying to emulate Phil Anselmo at times. There are a few differentiators to be found though & they’re well worth discussing. For starters, the extreme length of many of the eight tracks on offer pushes up into self-indulgent territory at times. The tracks aren’t boring or anything but I have to ask what the point was as it’s not like there’s much of a progressive component to these song structures so they really are just extended groove metal songs. There’s also a significant thrash metal influence to some of the tracks here, perhaps more than I’ve noticed in the Machine Head material I’ve heard from other releases. It’s not enough to justify a primary thrash tag but it’s definitely there. I’m not much of a fan of the clean vocals which seem to be a clear attempt at commercialism but the biggest surprise for me was the inclusion of Iron Maiden style guitar harmonies & often for extended periods. I can’t say that they work all that well as they try their level best to drag the band into a cheesier territory that’s somewhat at odds with their masculine image. I wouldn’t say that this is a deal breaker by any means but I think the implementation could have been executed in a more subtle way. The lead guitar work is pretty effective though & is often a highlight.

The tracklisting is pretty solid with only the one obvious dud in the more commercial “Beautiful Mourning” but there aren’t really any genuine classics for me personally. I generally like the vast majority of the album but the only track that really gets me going on a physical level is “Now I Lay Thee Down” which I find to be the clear album highlight. From what I can tell though, “The Blackening” not only seems to compete with “Burn My Eyes” for Machine Head’s most popular record these days but is also one of groove metal’s most highly regarded releases overall so I can only really assume that my personal taste is restricting its appeal. I do remember enjoying the tracks I know from the debut a bit more than what I’ve taken from “The Blackening” though so it might be worth my while giving it a chance at long last over the coming months. I have to admit that “The Blackening” is unlikely to disappoint fans of quality metal music but it was never going to threaten my upper scores from a purely stylistic point of view.

For fans of Pantera, Sepultura & Soulfly.