Machine Head appear to be a band in a state of flux. Since their almost universally derided effort Supercharger left them without a lead guitarist and without a label back in 2002, they worked their way back into the hearts of metal fans around the world with Through the Ashes of Empires and cemented their status as one of the greats of modern metal with The Blackening. While not on the same level as their 2007 opus, follow up Unto the Locust still proved that Machine Head were able to maintain the form that people had now come to expect from them.
However, the departure of Adam Duce in 2013 and more lukewarm effort Bloodstone & Diamonds left people unsure where Robb Flynn and co should take their music going forward. All the while, Flynn was growing increasingly vocal about social and political issues in American politics and within the metal scene itself. Thus, here we are in 2018 with Catharsis: an album with more emotion and drive in it than any Machine Head album before it, yet its direction and songwriting suffer because of it.
Opener ‘Volatile’ is possibly the most aggressive opener Machine Head have unleashed since the 90s, with breakneck riffs and Flynn’s vocals on fire as he rails against the far-right. Standard Machine Head? Not quite, but close enough. But then we take a left-field turn with the title track. Here, we see how metalcore has clearly taken an influence on Flynn’s writing going into this album, particularly acts such as Killswitch Engage and Trivium, with harsh verses and clean, keyboard lined choruses providing the hooks, accentuated by chugging core-styled riffs. Listening to ‘Kaleidoscope’ later in the album also shows a considerable metalcore influence, this time taking its cue from the sort of metalcore that made Bring Me the Horizon’s commercial breakthrough Sempiternal so acclaimed – however, they don’t quite pull it off to the same effect.
And herein lies one of the big problems with Catharsis: the songs wear their influences on their sleeves far too much. Whether it be simple stylistic similarities to bands like KSE or BMTH, or straight up riff similarities like the main riff ‘Volatile’ and Chimaira’s 2003 punisher ‘Cleansation” and, most controversially, the main riff to ‘Beyond the Pale’ being eerily similar to Strapping Young Lad’s ‘Love?’. While the acts that have influenced this album may not have a problem with this (Devin Townsend has openly explained how it doesn’t bother him), it does make the listener feel as though Machine Head were running short of ideas going into this album, and rushed through songwriting. This is something even more noticeable when you look at the lyrics.
Opener ‘Volatile’ is possibly the most aggressive opener Machine Head have unleashed since the 90s, with breakneck riffs and Flynn’s vocals on fire as he rails against the far-right. Standard Machine Head? Not quite, but close enough. But then we take a left-field turn with the title track. Here, we see how metalcore has clearly taken an influence on Flynn’s writing going into this album, particularly acts such as Killswitch Engage and Trivium, with harsh verses and clean, keyboard lined choruses providing the hooks, accentuated by chugging core-styled riffs. Listening to ‘Kaleidoscope’ later in the album also shows a considerable metalcore influence, this time taking its cue from the sort of metalcore that made Bring Me the Horizon’s commercial breakthrough Sempiternal so acclaimed – however, they don’t quite pull it off to the same effect.
When it comes to the lyrics on Catharsis, you can tell that Robb Flynn was purely running on his emotions here, not stopping to think about whether the lyrics make sense or will have the same impact he may have hoped they would. The use of racial slurs in ‘Bastards’ – a problematic song for more reasons than just the lyrics (Machine Head goes folk punk?) – may have been intended as a bold statement against racism and bigotry, but instead come off as crass and uncomfortable. Meanwhile, tracks like ‘California Bleeding’ and ‘Razorblade Smile’ (“I’m eating pussy by a dumpster, beard stinking like snatch”? You’re better than this Robb) feel like he has regressed into the sort of lyrics he wrote in the Supercharger days (think ‘White-Knuckle Blackout!’ or ‘American High’). You can appreciate that Robb is trying to raise awareness of social and political issues, but his execution is left wanting.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t good moments on this album. Some of the above tracks, despite their flaws, are perfectly enjoyable on their own, and the grooves of ‘Triple Beam’ hit like a juggernaut. It may be one of the most nu-metal tracks on the album, but it’s unlike any of the nu metal Machine Head have written before, moving between big riffs and eerie breaks and offering dynamic shifts that make it stand out among the rest of the tracks on the album. ‘Screaming at the Sun’ makes great use of somewhat Middle-Eastern sounding vocal patterns to add something different to what would otherwise just be another Machine Head metalcore song, while the mid-paced ‘Psychotic’ is much like ‘Triple Beam’ in its use of dynamics to mix things up. The other highlight of Catharsis is the track ‘Grind You Down’, in which the band downtunes to a near-djent level, and gives bassist Jared MacEachern a chance to display his vocal talents in the band. The vocal play between Jared and Robb is something that they should really look to expand on in future, as it adds something just a bit different to the delivery on the tracks and could open up more possibilities to them with Jared’s guttural vocals.
All in all though, the album feels like Machine Head are at a loss as to where they want to go, and had more to say than they had to play. As such, they just threw everything at the wall in hopes of something sticking, and created a diverse yet directionless album that outstays its welcome by track 8 of 15. There are definitely a few ideas that the band should close in on and develop in future, but far too many that just don’t work at all (looking at you, ‘Bastards’).
Machine Head's new album Catharsis is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.