Since they let freedom ring with a shotgun blast well over two decades ago. Oakland natives, Machine Head have had a tumultuous journey. From the dizzying highs of their debut, through the troubled adolescence of The Burning Red and Supercharger. To their majestic resurgence with Through The Ashes Of Empires and genre defining work on The Blackening. Their path has been littered with both prosperity and pitfalls over the years.
Now eleven albums deep into their career. Machine Head are back once again with their latest studio offering, UNATØNED. Which, judging by the albums aesthetic and fact they continue to rummage around in Underøaths recycling bin for fonts, is clearly intended as more than just a spiritual successor to 2022’s crushing ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN.
All nomenclature jokes aside though, where does UNATØNED slot into the Machine Head pantheon? The answer is uneasily somewhere in the middle of the pack, but please, allow us to elaborate…
Once the ambient atmosphere of the albums opening track, LANDSCAPE ØF THØRNS has set the mood. ATØMIC REVELATIØNS starts things off with a suitably potent galloping main riff. Offset by a delicate tinkling piano keys that reinforces the heft of it’s post-apocalyptic chorus. It’s a tried and true formula that will be familiar to Machine Head fans both new and old. Needless to say, it still works too. Getting UNATØNED off to a solid enough start.
UNBØUND, the albums debut single, continues in much the same vein. With a chunky riff littered with Robbs trademark natural guitar harmonics. Coupled with verses delivered in double time, playing off the kick drum. Adding an extra sense of urgency and power. While the execution is spot on and it’s a track that will no doubt work that Machine Head magic on a sweaty festival audience. From a songwriting perspective, we’re now almost ten minutes deep into UNATØNED and we’re still very much in ‘verse, chorus, verse, breakdown’ territory.
Not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with that. The production is solid and you will no doubt catch yourself nodding along. However, you soon begin to realise that ØUTSIDER and NØT LØNG FØR THIS WØRLD follow pretty much the same blueprint. Gone are most of the soaring guitar harmonies, technical bridges and more elaborate structures that set albums like Through The Ashes Of Empires, The Blackening and even this albums predecessor, ØF KINGDØM AND CRØWN apart from their stablemates. Leaving you wanting, wishing for just a little more polish.
THESE SCARS WØN’T DEFINE US provides a little more of the fire and fury we’ve come to expect from Machine Head. As well as a chorus that begs to be sung aloud while pyro charges singe your eyebrows. Yet you can’t help but feel you could reach back into the bands back catalogue and pull out a more complete version of the same song. In this case, Aesthetics of Hate being the example that springs to mind.
BØNESCRAPER is another track that boasts a catchy hook and enough woah-oh woah-oh moments to keep an arena of Parkway Drive fans occupied. Yet despite that, it’s the lack of that little extra spark that stands out all the more. To label it formulaic would be a disservice, but once you’re past the halfway point. The not so secret recipe being employed on UNATØNED is also pretty unmistakable.
From this point on in fact, it’s only really BLEEDING ME DRY that stands out. Notably because the lyrics centred around addiction and pain ring truer than most of UNATØNED’s more obvious hooks. Born from a more personal place. Coming across as more cathartic and genuine, if not quite as t-shirt worthy as lines such ‘love is just a loaded gun’ as a result. It hits home, especially if you’re familiar with Rob Flynn’s past personal struggles.
Which just leaves SHARDS ØF SHATTERED DREAMS and SCØRN to play out the remainder of UNATØNED’s runtime. You can tell that SCØRN in particular is aiming for the same territory as tracks like Bastards and Descend The Shades of Night. Much like the rest of UNATØNED though, it reaches admirably for, yet never achieves quite the same impact.
They say comparison is the thief of joy and that seems to be an ethos that very much applies to UNATØNED. On the surface it’s a solid enough record. With a handful of tracks that are destined to pay dividends when they find their way into Machine Head’s live setlists.
Compared to some of their previous output however. It’s difficult to place UNATØNED anywhere but somewhere in the middle of their expansive catalogue.
Far from catastrophic, perfectly serviceable, but somewhat akin to a late eighties AC/DC record. It’s lacking just enough of the je ne sais quoi that has helped set them apart that it becomes noticeable. Leaving behind an album that isn’t bad by any means but that also falls a little short of it’s predecessors headbanging legacy.
UNATØNED lands on store shelves and digitally on April 25th via Nuclear Blast Records. You can head over to the bands official website and pre-order your copy now. Or, stay up to date on all things Machine Head, including their upcoming headline performance at Bloodstock Festival this August on social media.
