Machine Head - The Blackening review

Release Date: 03/27/2007
Label: Roadrunner Records

I’ve been a fan of Machine Head for a long time now. The first thing I heard said about this album was “It’s a total return to form!” I hear that so often about so many different bands these days that I decided not to let myself get too excited. After all….remember when Metallica returned to form with St. Anger?

Anyways after listening to this album I have to agree…it is a return to form! But is that a good thing? Burn My Eyes was an awesome album in 1994 and The More Things Change was an awesome album in 1997. The Blackening would be an awesome album if it was released in 2001. That’s not to say that The Blackening is a bad album….far from it actually. It’s just that when a band decides to return to form they should also allow for some progression in their sound. Don’t return to the exact same thing you were doing 13 years earlier. Grow up with your fan base!

Although The Blackening seems a little dated at times there are a few gems that stand out! One such gem being ‘Halo’. This is what the album should sound like after all these years. It mixes old Machine Head with new Machine Head and it really works! It’s basically the only song on the album that doesn’t sound like the rest of them.

So in summary, yes I do like this album. I just believe that Machine Head should stop worrying about what people have been saying about them for their last few albums and write the music they want to write. If The Blackening is the music they want to write, then it’s about time Machine Head grew up.

Rating: 4/5
Choice Lyric: “An ugly truth, put forth by our youth”
Download: Halo