Machine head ------ The Burning Red.
I don't know if this was a popular album. What I do know that their 2 albums after this one wasn't while their last till now had a better impact on the society. And, I don't know a lot of Machine Head history and I know that people won't bother so lets just skip this part.Machine Head. Only 1 album was reviewed till now, not much. However, that review was already done 3 times and I really wanted to review that CD. Burning Red wasn't reviewed yet, then I thought, why can't I review it. So here is the review.
Enter The Phoenix
This is a bit of a useless intro. There is only some guitar coming in, they use some great riff but it's not enough. Well, that's the only thing to say about it, very average. The only thing positive is that the track is only 50 seconds long. The riff they use is very good but I wanted to hear it in a full song, not an intro of nothing. Average...
Grade 5.5/10
Desire To Fire
The song immediately starts with guitars and drums. The intro mainly is Dave hitting rides and crashes and guitars just fading away or coming in. Then a snare drum makes the intro and couplet set apart. The negative point of the snare drum is that Dave changes the tempo and goes faster, not too much but just accidentally. The first part of the couplet is Rob whispering a bit evil. The second part is a rap version of it with clean vocals. The drum and guitars are nothing special, they're just doing their part. The chorus is very nice but it won't last long in your mind, after 5 seconds you'll forget it. After the second chorus, this song goes from a rap-metal song into more a progressive metal. This part has quiet parts and some harder parts but feature all the same Machine Head energy. This is a nice song but I would have expect more.
Grade 7/10
Nothing Left
This song is very much like Desire To Fire but with more singing and less progressive. I could repeat what I've said in my Desire To Fire review but that will come very blunt over so this review will be a bit shorter. The singing is great, screaming is great, guitar is great, drumming is great, bass is great, production is great. Everything on itself is great, but all mixed up, it is more an experience than a song. That fact can be good, but in this song it seems disappointing. Still, the normal Machine Head feeling is there and the song makes you go again, and again, and again listening to it.
Grade 7.5/10
The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears
Aah, this is better. The track immediately begins with the beat and riff. The guitars make a good riff and the bass does his work. For the rest, standard screaming, standard drumming, standard guitar riffs. The part where this song stands out is the mysterious and beautiful pre-chorus. Drum is hitting bells and hithats and sh*t. Rob sings also beautiful and this is typical a part used in a ballad. BUT... The song then goes into the real chorus. I don't want to say the chorus is bad but it's just really f*cked up after the cool pre-chorus. Well, this song is just a song with normal arrangement, the bridge is just a mix between the heavy guitar riffs and Rob's humming. Count this all together and you have a great song, not too great, but it will be pleasant to listen to it once a day.
Grade 8/10
Silver
This song starts with some scraping. The main riff is pretty creepy and the bass set a good undertone. Rob actually sings in it, very good, but he changes his voice in the chorus. The chorus again is the standard heaviness as the other songs. So this song just does nothing to me, it has not many original parts and I've heard better riffs. A bit boring too, this song didn't make itself popular with me. Still an alright try.
Grade 6.5/10
From This Day
This song starts with a guitar riff that really looks like the famous Raining Blood riff (Slayer), but just simplefied. The couplet features some good rapping but it sounds a little bit forced and out of place. The chorus however is great with Rob singing the lines: "Time to see, believe this in me This pain that I feel deep inside". The problem with this song is that it is supposed to be catchy while it just isn't. It will stick in your head but just a little bit and on an annoying way. For the rest this song isn't bad but just a bit mediocre. One of the less good tracks.
Grade 5/10
Exhale The vile
This song is more a creepy and scary song. Don't expect results as Slipknot has (Prostethics-Scissors) but Machine Head really succeeds to make a good song. The song starts with a slow burning beat with some nice riffs. The couplet is a bit creepy with Rob doing a mix between whispering and screaming (very weird but it works). The pre-chorus is more the metal feeling with crushing guitars and hard drumming. Till now there was nothing outstanding, very good but not worth the grade I'm giving. The chorus however is incredible beautiful, still creepy but also beautiful. the couplet comes again with the lyrics changed. The pre-chorus is the same. The chorus however is doule length, woohoo. Now I'm gonna talk about the chorus: Rob sings emotional and powerful at the same time. The guitar riffs are awesome and the Dave does some nice hitting on the bell of the ride. The bridge is again just good, nothing too special and the final chorus comes in again. The only negative thing I can say is that I wanted a long final chorus, about 4 or 6 times with swearing in it or something. The final chorus is only done 2 times, just a bit too few. Still it is one of the best tracks on the album.
Grade 9.5/10
Message In A Bottle
This is a song you wouldn't expect to be on this cd. It's not a ballad but it's close to that word, the song starts with a clean guitar and goes into the great couplet. The pre-chorus sounds very happy while Rob sings "I'm sending a S.O.S.". The couplet after that part is partly clean and partly distorted. Rob screams on a soft way and somehow he sounds emotional. It's awesome!!!! After that part Rob goes back to the S.O.S. part and it's just the same but then with distortion and screaming. After that part the song becomes quiet again, and then the outro comes with a feeling of a final chorus. Pretty funny, while there is not an actually chorus. Perfect song, but it's just too short, that will take 1 point. Still this is higher than most of the rest.
Grade 9/10
Devil With The King's Card
From the beginning you'll hear that this is a rough and heavy song. The song starts with a quiet guitar noise and goes into a heavy slow riff. The whole song is heartless and without emotion, that's probably the reason why I don't like it. Rob screams his lungs out of his chest but stays on on tone. The guitars are boring and don't deliver good riffs. The bass can't be heard which is very normal in bands like this. However, a bass would be a good idea cause that would make the song more interesting. The drums however are very good and although it is simple the drums are effective. For the rest.... the only good thing is the calm bridge with singing and guitar effects, very nice. This track is useless, filler and stupid. Period.
Grade 3.5/10
I Defy
This is one of the heavier songs. With a chorus where Rob screams: "I DEFYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" over and over again. The couplet is also very in-your-face metal. It is all very good but nothing really stands out and the song will not stick in your head. The riffs are very good, especially in the couplet and intro. The bridge sounds more like a couplet, nothing special. Not a bad track.
Grade 7.5/10
Five
One of my favorites. After you've heard it you can easily understand why, the whole song is full of energy from intro till end. The song starts with a creepy guitar + drum. And goes into a heavier part. The couplets are really nu-metal like, a good sign. Rob sings a bit sweary and like he is drunk. The chorus is very energetic. The energy found in that song can only be compared to the other songs with such a high energy rate. The drum is very simple but still efective. The bridge is really a bridge, it feels like a bridge. With another great guitar riff and some drumming Rob screams not too much. The last part of the bridge is a short clean interlude and a build-up to the final chorus. The last chorus is double-length and again is awesome. This song is just the normal intro-couplet-chorus-couplet-chorus-bridge-chorus-outro but there are few songs that got such a power.
grade 8.5/10
The Burning Red.
A perfect way to end an album, period. The song starts with a clean guitar and stays clean throughout the song (except for the last part with a light distortion in it). The couplet is the same as the intro but has Rob singing in it. The song is very slow and it takes a while till the chorus comes but when it comes... Rob sings very emotional and the great guitar riff fit perfectly into each other. The drum and bass come in at the second couplet. Dave drums a very standard beat. The second chorus is again a bit louder but still is very emotional. The part after the second chorus is a interlude into the awesome final chorus with Rob singing "wooohooo" in it... just listen to it. The ending has a kind of soft industrial feeling in it. The drums slow down and the guitar makes some weird effects. The end isn't totally necessary but because it is the end of the album it won't take points of. Great song.
Grade 9.5/10
Best Top 3:
1.Exhale The Vile
2.The Burning Red
3.Message In A Bottle
Worst Top 3:
1.Devil With The King's Card
2.From This Day
3.Enter The Phoenix
Conclusion:This is more than just a nu-metal album. This album has a great variety of angry songs to creepy songs and even ballad-like one's. The rap/metal tracks are a bit disappointing compared to the rest out there in the big world, but hey, this is only their 1th real album. After all, the songs that are good are just incredible but there is just a bit too much filler in there. Mainly because a good song comes next and you just want to skip that one before because it is almost the same but worse. Still this is a great album!
Pro's
- Perfect way to end with (The Burning Red)
- The guitar riffs are superb
- The outstanding songs (Message In A Bottle, Exhale The Vile, The Burning Red) are really impressive and show that their songwriting is more than just professional
Con's
- The tempo changes trough the album, a little bit annoying.
- Many songs are just a bit above average.
- The album starts very bad with "Enter The Phoenix"
A 3.5/5
