Nuclear Blast Records
April 25, 2025
Words by Jimmy Glinster
There is one band that always excites me when I hear they have a new album on the way, and that band is Machine Head. Why, you ask? Well, it’s because you never quite know what to expect. You may get a Metal masterpiece, a Nu-Metal album or something somewhere in between full of political statements and what seems like a Dropkick Murphy’s cover tune on it. You may love it, or you may hate it, depending just where you sit on the spectrum. The metal one that is, and maybe the other one.
I’m not gonna lie, I have already heard two of the new songs, which most of you also probably have too. What I gathered from the first track released is that it seemed like it was directed towards the core kids who have really missed out so far on the Machine Head journey. And the second track seemed to have more of that Nu-Metal vibe to it, much to the dismay of the Machine Head purists who forgot that Robb Flynn rapped on both Burn My Eyes and The More Things Change. Anyway, my initial vibe with this album is that it will probably be one of those Machine Head albums that everyone hates except me, like The Burning Red and Catharsis, but let’s not pass judgement just yet, shall we?
The album opens with a short intro titled Landscape of Thorns which is little more than a soundscape of wind and footsteps which make you turn your volume up just enough for a quick piano piece, followed by the band thrashing straight into a blasting track titled Atomic Revelations. This is the type of tune that the purists love from Machine Head, well at least until it hits the chorus, and Robb breaks into some super melodic cleans. It’s kind of what he does, in case you’ve never noticed. The riffs are super heavy, though, and exactly what you would expect from the mighty Machine Head, as is the shredding solo. Banging track!
Unbound is up next, and it’s one of the ones that you’ve probably heard already. And it’s the one that I think is directed toward the core kids, with its heavy chugs and howling string bends. It still has a classic Machine Head sound to it and is heavy as fuck again but with the melodic pre-choruses pushing through. The constant breakdown style chugs make up for any moments of melody, though, and the token Machine Head harmonics ring through the mix every now and again to let you know that Robb and the crew are back in town!
This next one starts with Robb singing in that sweet melodic voice of his, but they get over that pretty quickly as the track launches into a heavy, bouncing good time. It’s got a real weird gallop to it that chugs along to a seemingly offbeat stutter. The song again breaks into a clean chorus, which so far seems to be the vibe of this album. This might be too much for the purists, but I’m down with it. The track is called Outsider, which is fitting because it’s probably the outsiders that will dig this one the most.
Not Long For This World further cements the melodic vibe of the album. This is the slowest track so far, and if you didn’t know it was Machine Head you may not pick it, unless of course you are super familiar with Robb’s melodic vocal stylings. This is basically a ballad with heavy guitars. Awesome track if you aren’t on the elitist spectrum.
Now that one’s done, the band gets back to doing what they do best, Thrash! These Scars Won’t Define Us is exactly the opposite to the preceding track with its fast thrash riffs and double kicks. But guess what? It has a melodic chorus, albeit a little gravellier this time around. Another cracking guitar solo slots in, as does a classic Machine Head breakdown mid-song. I think the purists will be ok with this one.
For a moment the album takes a twist which places me in The Burning Red, the track, not the album, but off the album of the same name. Dustmaker is the name of this one, and it’s basically some noise with a female spoken word throughout.
And here is the Nu-Metal one that you’ve probably also already heard. It’s called Bonescraper, and it’s a little bit rappy, and a little bit bouncy. All it really needs is the jumpsuit and the spiked hair. C’mon Robb, bring it back, if just for shits and giggles. Woah, oh, oh, oh.
It’s seeming that every time this album takes a “softer” turn that it comes back twice as hard. Well, at least the opening riff of Addicted to Pain does. Then it gets a bit rappy, and a bit melodic again. That main riff when it comes back in though is an absolute fucking banger! The bridge of the song takes an unusual twist before unleashing into a ripping solo and then twisting back to that killer riff and an outro chorus topped off with a Machine Head ending breakdown.
Did I just hear electronic drums? I mean, I’m all for experimentation, but Casio keyboard synths and beats might just be a little too far for me. Luckily, the band salvages themselves by opening Bleeding Me Dry with one of those classic Machine Head endings that I just mentioned. The purists are gonna hate the next bit though, but fuck ‘em, because this shit gets really heavy again, real quick. I don’t care if you hate it, and neither does Robb.
With a title like Shards of Shattered Dreams, I’m guessing this next one might be about Meth. I mean, we all know someone who has shattered theirs and everyone else’s dreams with the shards. I also could just be jumping to conclusions, but some of the lyrics would point that way too. Anyway, the song is an absolute fucking banger, and I’m sure the purists will be ok with this one.
Will this album end with a ballad? The piano and whispering vocals would lead me to believe so. Is Robb taking the Axl Rose route, and will a piano now come up from the stage floor mid-set? Will one of the band members jump through a cake and slide across a table for absolutely no reason at all? I sure do hope so, but probably not. If you are a purist, you’ve come too far and there is no turning back, but you are here now, so just sit back and enjoy it.
Robb Flynn and the Machine Head team have done it again. And who is the team this time around, you may ask? Well, I should probably get to that, shouldn’t I. Robb is joined by Jared MacEachern on Bass, Reece Scruggs on Guitars, and Matt Alston on Drums. If I got that wrong, you’ll need to blame Wikipedia, but they do look like the blokes in the promo pic.
Unatøned is not The Burning Red, but this is a great fucking album! Machine Fucking Head!
