Machine Head -- 'Through the Ashes of Empires' [review]

Machine Head
"Through the Ashes of Empires"
Roadrunner Records


What's a band to do?

You're one of the most beloved metal outfits to emerge from the early '90s. Your debut and its follow-up are considered by fans to be metal masterpieces of sorts. Yet, you experiment with your heavy sound, evolving slightly and adding more melody. Your last studio album is considered a huge letdown to your hardcore fans. Newer fans and critics are lumping you into a dying music trend.

What's a band to do?

Well, if you're Machine Head, you tell the naysayers to go f*ck themselves, delve into you past and embrace what you've become.

Then you turn around and release one of the most intense metal albums you can muster.

And THAT'S what "Through the Ashes of Empires," Machine Head's latest release, is: A brutal assault, drawing comparisons to its earlier work while still thriving on elements that have been added to the band over time (like melodic vocals and even more melodic guitar riffs).

Vocalist and guitarist Robert Flynn, bassist Adam Duce, drummer Dave McClain and new addition to the band, guitarist Phil Demmel, got together and crafted a sonically tight, blistering metal album. And along with battling to put the music together, the band endured an even bigger battle to get the music to the streets. Machine Head had split with its longtime label Roadrunner Records in 2002. "Through the Ashes" was released via Roadrunner last October in territories outside of North America, but without a U.S. deal the disc was only available as an import. Machine Head finally patched things up with Roadrunner in February, and decided to record a new song for the American release (initially the band was to record a new song and a cover, but opted for the solo new piece instead).

The overall sound of the disc is as heavy as the band's debut, bringing the kind of anger and emotion that was missing on later releases. There is some melody that has crept in, with some clean vocals comparable to the band's later work on some songs. The musical production on the disc is fantastic; the mix is guitar-heavy, but the drums and vocals never get lost in the overall sound. In fact, the standout on this release may be the drumming.

The album's opener, "Imperium," is, simply put, vintage Machine Head. Opening with a chunky guitar riffs and blistering drumming, as Flynn screams "Hear me now," you can fell this is like a rebirth for the band that has laid dormant for three years. And, unlike 2001's "Supercharger" (and to a lesser extent, 1999's "The Burning Red"), the band seems to have dug further into its past in an attempt to resurrect the energy off its debut and fan-favorite, "Burn My Eyes" -- "Imperium" has the feel of a track like "Davidian" or "Old" (off "Burn My Eyes"). And the song, as the album as a whole, focuses on the band's trademark sound: Flynn's alternating growling and melodic vocals, thick bass and drum beats and intense guitar licks wavering from industrial droning to solid, metal riffing.

But what an introduction "Imperium" is. The track clocks in at over six minutes in length, filled with crazy chord progressions and break downs and some killer double-bass pedal work in the song's latter half.

The solid drumming flows over into the intro for the disc's next track, "Bite the Bullet," and it's clear the band is on a mission to craft a hard-hitting metal album.

"Through the Ashes" definitely has its stand out tracks. "Left Unfinished" is an explicit laden diatribe against bad parenting (with maybe an undercurrent towards the music scene in general?). Featuring great double-bass again, the fast-paced song is like a sonic weedwacker tearing through your head on the verses, before it becomes more deliberate at the chorus.

"Days Turn Blue to Gray" is this album's best track, bar none. The song opens like a blues-tinged hard-rock track before flourishing with metal riffs and loud drums. But right before Flynn starts the opening verse, the music stops for a beat as Flynn exclaims "Oh!" and the song seems to do a 180 as he melodically belts out the lyrics almost like a lullaby and the band follows along, hard and heavy. Lyrically the song once again deals with parenting and is split in two by a melodic bridge mid-way through the song that slowly becomes more frenzied before flourishing into a start-stop bridge with Flynn almost chanting "Father, Mother, destroyer, destroy her" over an amazing solo by Demmel.

Then you have a song like "Elegy," that has an old-school Corrosion of Conformity feel to it at the onset, but once Flynn starts singing the verses and it takes on an ethereal quality with his bluesy, Black Sabbath-like singing before he growls through the chorus. "Elegy" is also a great song showcasing just how tight the four members sound together. The drums and bass play around each other and the guitar riffs compliment the vocals.

The disc's new track, "Seasons Wither," is also a welcome addition. Unfolding like a thrash song, the chorus slows down to showcase the band's sludgy sound. The band also plays with the tracks production fading in and out at times (in an non-jarring fashion). You can feel the band wanted to craft a mosh pit anthem with this, and can visualize the crowd going crazy during the bridge, especially with the guitar solos and drumming. There's also a nod to the newer bands in the genre as the song sounds reminiscent of Killswitch Engage towards the end.

On the band's official Web site, McClain says the band's mission when they began writing "Through The Ashes Of Empires" was clear: "To write an album that would really satisfy us musically. Longer songs, off-time parts, leads. We didn't worry whether this song or that song could be played on the radio or not. ... We feel that if 'Through The Ashes Of Empires' was our first album, it would do the same things that 'Burn My Eyes' did, in terms of establishing Machine Head as one of the best metal bands out there."

And upon listening to "Through the Ashes," you can't help but agree with that sentiment. From end to end, there not a single low point or skippable moment, which is quite a feat. After a lengthy wait and heaps of accolades, Machine Head's latest turned into one of the best surprises of the year. Not a let down at all.