With Machine Head, I have to try my best to be fair. 2007’s The Blackening was an awesome record, but I’ve always had trouble getting really into them otherwise. But this new album has been getting some shining reviews lately and a lot of big time Machine Head fans seem to like it, so perhaps there is something to Unto the Locust.
Most of the album follows a basic formula: start the song off quietly, then crank the volume and let the heaviness kick in. The album’s opening track takes this formula and makes for a heavy and energetic start. But, as plagues most of the other songs, I Am Hell feels much longer than it needs to. Unto the Locust is made up seven relatively long songs, only one that clocks in at less than 6 minutes. While this gives the band a lot of room to throw in a multitude of riffs and solos, it makes the album drag quite a lot. There is a promising upswing towards the middle of the album with song s like Locust and Darkness Within. Locust has a very catchy groove and an awesome crunch-section at the end (think of Davidian off the first album). Locust is one example where Machine Head’s style works, mixing aggression with melody in a very effective way. Darkness Within is not the heaviest song on the album, it even sounds like contemporary hard-rock in parts, but it has some of the stronger lyrics on the album and has a crushing breakdown after the 4-minute mark. That and well…its one of the only songs that seems to have any focus at all.
Unfortunately, most of the album sounds like a generic muddle, and the band’s quiet-to-loud formula gets very tiresome very quickly. Using this formula isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it worked well on Imperium and other older songs, but it just makes Unto the Locust so predictable. Who We Are could be another highlight, if not for the strange and awkward chorus of children that comes out of nowhere. Too bad, considering it boasts the best guitar solo of the entire album. I should also admit that I’ve never really gravitated to the vocals. Rob Flynn can carry a tune well enough singing clean, but his growling voice just seems so flat to me. While it mimics that of Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly) and Jorge Rosado (Merauder), his voice doesn’t quite capture the same fire, even for all the heat he puts into it. In a way, I feel bad for mentioning this. You sing with the vocals chords you were born with. But in evaluating the band’s sound, the vocals are unavoidable.
Unto the Locust is by no means awful and should deliver enough punch and speed to keep the mosh pit going. Of course, the real test of any song is to hear it played live. So anyone who saw Machine Head this summer is more than welcome to point out how they sound on stage. There is plenty to like in Machine Head and I’ll always be down to check out whatever they release in the future, even if Unto the Locust left me unconvinced.
5.5/10
Favorite songs: I Am Hell, Locust, Darkness Within
