Machine Head’s “Darkness Within” has a lot of heavy-handed symbolism
Machine Head debuted the video for “Darkness Within” off of last years excellent Unto the Locust last week. It’s one of the highest quality and biggest production videos of the bands’ career and showcases just how a “bigger” metal band can make great videos.
The video itself is chock full of some heavy-handed symbolism, though. From the images of the church, to the monks and the book of music notes, its not a subtle message. Much like the song, the visuals orchestrate the move from a religious faith to a life of decadence, to a faith in music (and oneself, I would argue). However, the end of the video, where all the band gets buried, leaves something to be desired. As the song is, for the most part, positive in its affirmations of finding faith in music, the video seems to reaffirm that life leads to one point; death. There’s a lot of cool stuff going on here and I could deconstruct it for days. Basically, score one for Machine Head in creating one of the most dynamic and cool videos of the year. I’ll never get why people don’t think this band is awesome.
Check the video below!
-Dan
Machine Head excel in the classroom.
It almost seems like a weekly thing; a random youtube video of Machine Head doing something awesome, and proving they are cooler than any other metal band out there. While everyone praised Dave Grohl for wearing a Slayer shirt under his jacket at the Grammy’s , Machine Head’s Rob Flynn and Adam Duce went to Booker T Washington High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and spoke to a music class for almost an hour. You can watch the video below.
The only people that ever spoke to my high school were there to tell you not to do drugs, not to have sex, and not to drink and drive. Hour-long assemblies that almost made you wish you were actually in class. Hell, Dan and I even took a guitar class or senior year and learned nothing except how to play “American Pie”. Not only is it cool to see teachers that want to spread knowledge and are fans of metal, but it’s really cool to see the Machine Head guys taking time out of their day to go talk with some kids. What will they do next?
-Chris
Machine Head: Live in Denver
The first U.S. date of Machine Head’s The Eighth Plague Tour kicked off Sunday night in Denver, and I was lucky enough to be in attendance! The tour featured Darkest Hour, Suicide Silence, and of course, the mighty MACHINE HEAD! I’m always a little weary of the first date of tours, but all the bands seemed to be firing on all cylinders.
Darkest Hour were up first to warm everyone up for the night. I saw the band open for At the Gates a couple years back and although I like their music I wasn’t very impressed. This time around though they sounded great. Their set seemed really short but what I saw was all good. The tracks off their latest album sounded killer live.
Suicide Silence were up next and really set things off. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the band, but they’re pretty fun to watch live and everyone else seems to love them. They opened with “You Only Live Once” and chugged straight into “Wake Up”, those two songs seemed to get the biggest reactions of their entire set. Their vocalist has really got his foot stomp down! With all the beer in me, I really wanted to head to the front and attempt to put my can on his little box and see if he would crush it, but it was not meant to be. After a few dozen breakdowns, it was time for the mighty Machine Head!
Machine Head‘s headlining tour for The Blackening was one of the best shows I have ever seen. There was just an indescribable vibe in the room and I think even back then the guys knew they had something really special with that album. A similar feeling was had Sunday night as the band tore into “I am Hell” and the next 90-plus minutes were pure metal ecstasy. They worked their way through “Be Still and Know”, “Imperium”, “Beautiful Mourning”, “The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears”, “Locust” and “This is the End” before dedicating “Aesthetics of Hate” to Dimebag. A silhouette of Dime was visible on the backdrop which was pretty sweet. They then played “Old” before setting up the acoustic guitar and Rob spoke for a few and started into “Darkness Within” which was pretty chilling, yet awesome to hear live! They pushed on with “Declaration”, “Bulldozer”, and “Ten Ton Hammer” before the intro to “Who We Are” began playing. Rob Flynn’s voice soon drowned out the children’s and all seemed right in the world. They closed out the night with “Halo” and “Davidian.”
It’s awesome that after 15 years, they are still on top of their game and seem to be having a lot of fun. Their music continues to grow and there aren’t many bands that can put on as solid of a show as Machine Head. This was by far the best set list I’ve seen the band play and they just took over that entire venue. The tour just began, if you are anywhere near any of the dates, this is definitely a must-see show!
I was too busy rocking out to take any pictures, so here’s a video of the guys playing “I Am Hell” in Europe last year. Epic.
-Chris
DC Metal Review’s best videos of the year-part 1
As in the past, Chris and I collaborated on our picks for best videos of the year. Unlike past years, we did ten and ranked them. We won’t be expanding on these videos a whole lot, jut posting them and saying why they are cool. Have fun!
10. Tesseract- “Nascent”
A really trippy video that has some great visuals in it. Just a really stylish, cool video with a good track. Besides, what’s more metal than burying yourself in an grave?!
9. Leprous- “Restless”
Another strange video with some cool visuals to it. The filmography is really good and the music and visuals don’t clash. Plus, there’s a guy washing himself with a fish. Deserves a spot for that alone!
8. Textures- “Reaching Home”
Probably the coolest thing about this video is how simple and effective it is. Just giving the description, “guy wanders beach and sings song” sounds really, really boring. Yet, it works out immensely well and has lots of re-playability to it.
7. Dark Tranquillity- “Iridium”
We’ve talked a lot about how videos of the band playing the song are boring. Thankfully, this video for last years We Are the Void, is all animated and really killer. We aren’t quite sure what it all means, but it’s well done and fun to watch.
6. Machine Head- “Locust”
In case you didn’t gather, we love Machine Head around here. While some have felt the concept of locusts was a little, um, weak, this video definitely makes them pretty menacing. And there’s good pacing so the six minute clip doesn’t feel too long either.
-D&C
Dan’s top ten of 2011-part 2
5. East of the Wall- The Apologist; This one was a surprise on the list, especially given how late it appeared. What clinched it’s spot though, was the clean jazz solo in “Linear Failure.” That the band could move from hardcore intensity into such a different musical space and do it so effortlessly and naturally is a huge win. It gives the band a uniqueness and familiarity, which can make The Apologist a difficult listen. This is an album that can exist in the background, but has plenty of moments that draw your attention back. An all around solid, exciting and engaging listen. Truly a special band.
Why it’s number 5; The Apologist is near flawless in what it does. However, it doesn’t feel like the band’s magnum opus and while each song is different, the album can feel a little too compilation of songs-esque. Incredibly solid and exciting release.
4. Machine Head- Unto the Locust; I knew this album would appear on the list somewhere. While most reviews have cited that Unto the Locust is not as good as The Blackening, I kind of knew it wouldn’t be. Taken on it’s own, this album is fantastic. It pushed Machine Head into newer musical territory and does not feel “safe” for them. In that, it still feels like the quality Machine Head material we’ve come to know in the last ten years or so, and considering the band are still playing with Dream Theater length songs, not a single song feels laborious or boring. Another testament to how Machine Head are at the top of the heap of modern metal.
Why it’s number 4; Despite being such a quality release, this is the first album since Ashes where I really thought Machine Head lacked something; good lyrics. Mind you, the lyrics have never been Keats material or even close, but having a line like, “it will disseminate as we consummate” is just laughable. If it was just this one line, it’d be forgiven, but these pop up all over.
3. Leprous- Bilateral; Another surprise entry on my list. I heard about Leprous back when this album came out in August, but I simply passed over them for whatever reason I did. I’m glad that I revisited this album, because if there is a band that espouse the mechanics of progressive metal and the aesthetics of Faith No More better than Leprous, I haven’t heard them. Bilateral does so many things musically and marries them perfectly. There’s groovy bass lines, fantastic riffs, memorable melodies and great vocal work. It’s an album that gets stuck in your head and is completely original.
Why it’s number 3; For all the good, there are just a few things that don’t quite work. While the experimental aspect works in their favor 98% of the time, that 2% sticks out just enough. No doubt this will be changed with future releases. Expect to be hearing about Leprous a lot in the future.
2. Ghost Brigade- Until Fear No Longer Defines Us; I purchased this album after hearing one song, which is something that I haven’t done since high school. The plus side is that it wasn’t just that one song that was killer, it’s the whole album! This album floored me with how good it was. It has the perfect mix between moody, acoustic/semi-acoustic songs and full on metal heaviness. The riffs get stuck in my head for days, the melodies are strong and immediately infectious, and the whole aesthetic is near perfect. The lyrics are also not your run of the mill metal lyrics, even for doom metal. Incredibly bare and personal meditations, the lyrics fit the music in a way few bands can pull off, but Ghost Brigade does it effortlessly. I think I may have found a new favorite for those dark, winter nights.
Why it’s number 2; It’s hard to give a negative critique to the number 2 pick, but if there is one, it’s that the band’s aesthetic doesn’t change much throughout the album. About midway through, you get where the rest of the album is going, but thankfully the strong songwriting makes this pretty much a non-issue.
1. Cormorant-Dwellings; I already wrote a review of this album recently, but since then I’ve listened to this album almost everyday. Each time I listen to it, more and more layers are peeled back and Dwellings reveals itself as a master work of a group of musicians who “get it.” Not only is every song meticulously crafted, but the artwork is stunning and adds another dimension to the songs. Then there are the lyrics. Whereas the lyrics for most bands border on “good” and “ok,” Cormorant have written some of the most thought provoking, poetic and great lyrics of any band this year. In short, Dwellings is a whole package album. Every piece feels placed for a specific reason, and unlike some albums that lose their edge in light of this, Dwellings retains this. It’s thoughtful, genre bending, and done all on the band’s own dime. There is no better expression of where metal is in 2011 or where it’s going than Dwellings. I’ve tried to find something negative about this album, but I just can’t. Best album of the year, period.
-Dan
Chris’ Top 10 Metal Albums of 2011
#10 – Septic Flesh – The Great Mass
The band’s utilization of the Filmharmonic Orchestra and Choir of Prague made this album sound so sonically massive. With over 150 members, they helped every second of this album ooze with ominous cinematic quality. There was so much depth throughout; I still hear subtle nuances with each listen that seemed to go unnoticed in prior listens. While the heavier more epic moments sound that much bigger and evil with a full orchestra behind you, it’s the mellower moments in tracks and the use of the choir that really put this album on another level. There’s nothing quite like feeling in danger when you listen to a band, and no one did that better this year than Septicflesh
#9 – TYR – The Lay of Thyrm
The Faroese metallers strike again! While Tyr are not alone in the Viking Metal category, their use of strictly clean vocals and the dual guitar/vocal attack really set them apart from their Viking brothers. This album has its upbeat, frenzied anthems, as well as its slower ballads, but throughout the group employs extremely polished and precise playing. This album is packed with some of the most infectious guitar licks and catchiest choruses of the year. If you’re not singing along or have a riff stuck in your head after listening to this album, then something is seriously wrong with you.
#8 – Hate Eternal – Phoenix Amongst the Ashes
Phoenix Amongst the Ashes skirted the track of my love for death metal with that “I can’t handle this much longer” feeling, and that’s exactly why it’s on my list. This album is as brutal as can be. Crushingly heavy, and horrifically fast, they don’t come much louder or more abrasive than this. The solo on the title track!? Brilliant. The brain blasting intro to “The Art of Redemption?” Unreal. There is nothing slow about it. An absolute mind-eraser of an album.
#7 – The Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction
“It’s everything including the kitchen sink”- Devin Townsend
This is one of the most layered metal albums I have ever heard. There are so many ways to enjoy this album. From listening to each individual piece of a track and analyzing its intricacies to just sitting back and letting it hit you all at once, it’s mind-blowing no matter how you do it. A real retrospective journey through Townsend’s career, all while experimenting and trying new things. Add an all-star cast of guest musicians and employ my love for double cheeseburgers into a metal song and I’m SOLD!
#6 – Amon Amarth – Surtur Rising
Melodic death metal at its finest! The band continues to fine tune their now legendary Viking metal sound and the results once again are epic. Johan Hegg’s vocals are so raw, his best performance to date; and the music just continues to get better. The riffs are heavier, the leads are catchier, and the band is implementing just enough change to avoid their sound becoming stagnant. They move from strings in “Doom Over a Dead Man” to slamming down the hammer of Thor in “A Beast Am I” and continue to create mandatory head bangers like “Slaves of Fear.” I feel fucking invincible listening to songs like “Live Without Regrets.” Amon Amarth continues to strengthen their hold as one of my favorite bands.
#5 – Sylosis – Edge of the Earth
Guitarist Josh Middleton took over vocal duties and I think the band is better for it. He has a great range of harsh vocals, and the clean vocals aren’t nearly as forced and…whiny sounding as those on the previous album. The musicianship continues to grow among the band and the dynamic Middleton has with guitarist Alex Bailey is a pleasure to listen to. This album is packed full of speedy thrash riffs, soaring melodies, and plenty of intricate solos. The guitar tone on this album is killer. Clocking in at more than 70 minutes, there isn’t much filler throughout the album as most of the songs flow well throughout and the riff factory that the band operates keeps each song interesting. This band has a lot of potential, but no one really seems to have heard of them. Hopefully this album will change that.
#4 – Machine Head – Unto the Locust
If any band was capable of making a follow up to the “Metal Album of the Decade” or the “Modern Day Master of Puppets” it’s Machine Head. Whether it’s as good as The Blackening is questionable, what not is the fact the band have created yet another masterpiece. Rob Flynn has one of the best voices in metal and the guitar work between him and Phil Demmel continues to become more and more impressive. The section beginning from 3 minutes into “Be Still and Know” maybe be my favorite minute of metal this entire year. The band continued what they accomplished with The Blackening and added a few new aspects to their sound that ultimately enhanced it. The use of the string quartet in a few spots, and the moody feel of “Darkness Within”, really gave this album a different feel from it predecessor. Hell; they even managed to use their kids in a track and make it work! With the upward ascent the band continues to ride, it will be awesome to hear what they do next; hopefully we won’t have to wait 4-5 years for it!
#3 – Revocation – Chaos of Forms
While this year has been anything but stagnant in the metal world, Revocation gave us a breath of fresh air with Chaos of Forms. There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said about these guys. Dave Davidson has received numerous accolades this year, and it’s hard to argue. The energy and soul he plays with and the character that comes from his playing is infectious. It only took a minute and twenty seconds for this album to make my jaw drop. The riff that takes hold at that moment in “Cretin” just blew my mind with its speed. Whether it’s the rabid thrash riffs, the breakneck solos, or the jaw dropping progressive movements, everything Revocation accomplishes is done so smoothly and with a flare that no other band in metal can match.
#2 – The Human Abstract – Digital Veil
Digital Veil came out forever ago. When it came out I thought “Album of the year for sure” over the remainder of the year, it held strong through a plethora of releases and I can confidently say it belongs among the top releases of this year. The Human Abstract accomplishes things in 36 minutes that many bands can’t accomplish in a career. With guitarist A.J. Minette back in the fold and with the addition of (now ex) vocalist Travis Richter, the band effortlessly blended classical composition with metal in a way few have done. While metal bands have incorporated symphonic elements into their music for awhile now, the composition and three guitar attack leads to the epic feel of classical music solely within the five instruments on the album. This band is so stacked with talent. What impressed me most with this were the precision and smooth transitions within the technicality of the bands playing. This was truly a modern metal masterpiece and in my opinion, The Human Abstract are one of the only ___-core bands that are really offering up something innovative and refreshing in their approach.
AND THE WINNER IS……….
#1 – PROTEST THE HERO – SCURRILOUS
“And what a f*cking waste of a day, we just lay around and waste away because when that sun goes down it’s bottoms up, and we try to reach the bottom of that endless cup. Everybody’s getting older, but no ones growing up.” WOW, can I relate to that line sometimes! I’ve never really cared much about lyrics in metal, but Rody Walker demands your attention on Scurrilous. I’ve never heard a band’s vocalist become such an intricate part of an album. Not only areWalker’s lyrics an amazing read, his delivery is unreal. The dude is singing his ass off in “Termites” and “Tongue-splitter”, its just so damn fun to listen to. That’s the other thing about the band I like. They’re just FUN to listen to. There’s a comedic value within some of the lyrics, but musically there’s so much going on, this album refuses to become old. Between the intricate tapping, and sweeps by guitarists Luke Hoskin, Tim Millar, and bassist Arif Mirabdolbaghi, and the start/stop drumming of Moe Carlson, there’s not a dull moment on the album. With how much they have going on musically, their transitions flawless. This album is just so damn smooth! Scurrilous was heavy, melodic, gritty, technical, and catchy all at once, and was easily my most listened to album this year…in fact, I’m going to go listen to it right now.
-Chris
Machine Head to tour U.S. and they better schedule a Colorado date!
UPDATE! FULL TOUR DATES NOW HERE!
OH, DENVER’S THE FIRST DATE OF THE TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love Unto the Locust. Sure, it’s not the masterpiece The Blackening was, but that’s alright, because it blows 95% of what’s considered metal these days out of the water. I’m fairly biased when it comes to Machine Head, but even if I wasn’t I’d still dig the shit out of the album. With that said, Machine Head are planning a U.S. tour in the early part of 2012 (that feels weird to write…) with only three dates and the support acts released as of yet. So… here are the dates and a brief video analysis of the support band’s in question.
Dates with support from Suicide Silence, Darkest Hour,and Rise to Remain;
02/06 Norfolk, VA – The Norva
02/08 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
02/18 San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
Rise to Remain; Did I step into a time machine to 2005? These guys are either going to be surprisingly good, or the most pretentious, generic youngsters peddling a half decade old sound. Nice solo though!
Darkest Hour; will be the best support band, I’m sure. Unless of course they are somewhat forgettable, as seemed to be the case on the At the Gates tour of 2008 (now who’s dating himself?).
Suicide Silence; get ready for Korn ver. 2012! Let’s get our nu-Deathcore on!*
Still stoked to see this tour. Here’s to lots of beers before Machine Head!
-Dan
*I actually find this video/song to fairly amusing, so I’ll be *somewhat* optimistic.
Trivium abducted. Machine Head swarmed.
Hey! More new music videos! Between working 14 to 18 hour days this week at work, I have had absolutely no time to write anything worth reading for the site. Not wanting to go an entire week without posting, the metal gods have given me the gift of new music videos, so I too can fall prey to “Lazy Journalism.”
First up Trivim have released the video for their single “Built to Fall”, the second video in what is at least a three part film. I’m still not entirely sure what is going on in the story, except now Matt Heafy and crew have been captured and abused by some kind of alien people:
Machine Head have finally unleashed their first music video off the amazing Unto the Locust, and it’s pretty sick. With how good the songs are, they could film just about anything and this would still be an epic video, but they did a really good job. Some of the individual band shots in the CD came from the video (or vice versa) but yeah, good job once again Machine Head!
Trivium just wrapped up their tour with Dream Theater and Machine Head will begin their European headlining tour in November. There once was a time Dan and I saw both bands on tour together, and it was epic. I’m thinking that needs to happen again in 2012.
-Chris
Machine Head – Unto The Locust
So I bet you didn’t know Machine Head had a new album out! It’s been really under the radar. It’s just the band’s follow-up to one of the best metal albums of our time, so it’s not really a big deal or anything…
By this time, you’ve heard of Unto the Locust. You’ve read and argued how it will stand up to The Blackening, hopefully by now, you’ve had a chance to hear it for yourself and make your own opinion. Unto the Locust is NOT The Blackening, and I mean that in a good way. This album is its own beast. Machine Head take everything they’ve done on their previous albums, increase the technicality and experiment just enough to keep things interesting and fresh, without losing any of the momentum they’ve harnessed in the painstaking four-year period they took to write it.
A haunting, layered acapella begins the opening track “I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)” before a slow, punishing guitar march warms you up to the grand introduction of the songs main riff. Its intensity is evenly matched by the vocals of Rob Flynn. 
The hectic vocal verse breaks into a wall of melodic tremelo riffing in the chorus and we are soon met with guitar battle of epic proportions. Flynn and guitarist Phil Demmel have once again stepped their game up and their work across the entire album really shows. For clocking in at nearly eight-and-a-half minutes, the smooth transitions and electrifying build-ups make this track fly by, moving straight into the tapping intro of “Be Still and Know”. This track has one of the catchier choruses on Unto The Locust and the extended guitar work throughout the middle of the song is one of the more captivating moments on the entire album. The single “Locust”while fairly straight-forward is another testament to the group’s great song writing abilities. From the building intro, the hook of the main riff, the tag team of guitar work and crushing ending, “Locust” is another great edition to the formula of epic material the band has produced. The great acoustic intro of “This Is The End” is topped even further by Rob Flynn’s vocal performance as his range really shows in the chorus. What surprised me most on this album is the sound and precision playing of drummer Dave McClain. This track really lets him show his speed and his execution throughout the album is spot on. The fact that bassist Adam Duce is highly audible throughout the record is another mark in the “win” column for Unto The Locust. The track “Darkness Within” is perhaps the band’s biggest risk on the album and they couldn’t have pulled it off any stronger. There’s an immense power in the simplicity of the track’s intro, as Flynn strums his acoustic and methodically heightens your curiosity with some of the more personal and inspiring lyrics of the entire album. “Pearls Before The Swine” is another seven-plus minutes of great guitar work, thunderous drumming, and Rob Flynn sounding nastier than ever. His classic snarl is still strong and his clean vocals continue to get stronger as can be heard at the 3:44 mark. McClain’s drumming is also top-knotch on this track. The anthemic closer “This Is Who We Are” begins with a chorus of kids (Flynn’s, Demmel’s, and Engineer Juan Urteaga’s) before Rob bursts in and the track is split wide open. This metalhead battle cry is the perfect ending to another epic album from one of the leading bands in this genre. If The Blackening was Machine Head’s Master of Puppets, then I suppose you could say Unto the Locust is their And Justice For All. Though with an album this good; why compare!?
-Chris
Two weeks away from new Machine Head!
Has anyone else peed themselves in excitement over the upcoming release from Machine Head!? If you haven’t yet, maybe this will help:
There aren’t many bands I can think of for someone my age (I’m 26) that have so much to live up to on a new record. The Blackening was good. Really good. From winning “Album of the Decade” to being considered a “modern Master of Puppets”, and to all the accolades by media and fans alike, it’s hard to disagree. I can say in all the years I’ve listened to metal, it is still one of the most epic albums I’ve ever heard. Dan and I were fortunate enough to see them shortly after that album came out and it was one of the most intense shows I have ever witnessed. The look Rob Flynn had as he crept to the stage still gives me chills thinking about it. They knew they had something special then, and fortunetely they seem to feel just as strongly about The Locust. So many people are expecting so many great things from this album, and I think if any band was up for a challenge, Machine Head would be the band to take it on. The clips of songs sound great, and the I’m sure the additional elements in this video will sounds nothing short of EPIC come September 27th.
-Chris
Review: Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
For the last couple of summers, the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival has been quite an impressive tour. While many of the headlining bands have never really been my personal favorites, the tour always manages to bring on at least five or six bands I really want to see. The setup was what I really liked about the show. Three stages made for a day on non-stop music. While Fiddler’s Green…..excuse me, the Comfort Dental Amplitheatre has never been my favorite venue, it always worked well for this tour set up, until this year. Instead of having side by side stages, you were almost forced to pick which second stage bands you wanted to see, as the stages were on the opposite block from each other. Between all the funneling back and forth through the narrow path the festival had made for you, we eventually decided to stay at one stage, missing some of the bands. Regardless of the terrible set up, we got to see some good performances.
Straight Line Stitch had me reminiscing of that terrible time I had to see Wicked Wisdom live. We got in late thanks to the venue opening gates an hour late, but missing this band didn’t make us to upset. After funneling through the street, we had a pretty bad vantage point for Kingdom of Sorrow, but they put on a great show. They sounded great, and Jamey Jasta seemed to be having as much fun as he always does in the live setting. 
After seeing All Shall Perish slay last year on Summer Slaughter, we were stoked to see them again. With a setlist focusing on their heaviest old material and a couple of new tracks, they really had the crowd going. Guitarist Francesco Artusato really shined with the band, and his playing really elevates the rest of the group. Everyone loved Suicide Silence except me. Next up for us was Unearth. Fresh of the release of Darkness in the Light, the group began by shotgunning a couple of beers, and blasted into “Watch it Burn”. As always, the band sounded great. Between the speaker jumping, air horns, and a kid crowd surfing in a Sponge-Bob costume, they put on a very memorable performance. 
Having a great spot at the Jager stage, we elected to stay for Trivium. In Flames began playing afew hundred yards away on the other stage, and it really sucked to miss them. According to a friend, they were much better than last time we saw them play. As the echoes of In Flames faded, Trivium soon washed away any doubt that we had made a bad decision staying put. Opening with their new title track “In Waves” the group blistered through a brief but epic set. Having seen these guys all but one time they have played in Denver, I can say they sound so much tighter as a band now with new drummer Nick Augusto. The guys really set the crowd off as well, and it was a great way to end the second stages out. Machine Head opened the main stage with “Imperium” and played their new track “The Locust” which sounded great. I wished they got to play a longer set! 
Megadeth was next and after brief sound issues in the beginning, Mustaine and company put on a hell of a show. They also played a song off their upcoming album Thirteen, which seemed a bit watered down, but I’ll wait to hear it in a non-live setting before I make any real judgement! The group also filmed the performance for a yet-to-be-determined release! Godsmack was next, and although I don’t like their music, they sounded good, and all the mall-boppers seemed to have a good time. Disturbed headlined the festival and with their internal problems now made public, you could definetely tell it affected thier performance. They didn’t seem to care much, and just went through the motions, sounding absolutely TERRIBLE for the….three and a half songs we stayed. After seeing 20,ooo other people loving every second of it, we suddenly felt very out of place, and elected to beat traffic home. Solid decision.
Overall, the performances of Unearth, Trivium, Machine Head, and Megadeth made up for the mostly lackluster day. Hopefully next year will bring the old layout back and either a stronger line-up or longer set times!
-Chris
Machine Head and Trivium give us some new music.
Machine head have released an advance mix of a new song, title “Locust.” All I have to say about it is, FINALLY! That and it is awesome. Not quite sure if it tops anything off The Blackening, and I didn’t quite get that floored feeling of awesomeness like the first time I heard “Imperium” or “Davidian” but there were a couple of “that’s bad ass!” moments which resulted in some personal headbanging. Basically, this is a great Machine Head song, total quality, ripping guitar work and some fantastic melody. In fact, the melodic chorus section may just be my favorite one the band have written. The as-yet-untitled album will drop September 27th (hopefully) and you can purchase “Locust” on iTunes. Or just listen below. Or both. I would advise both.
Trivium have also teased some new material from their new album, In Waves, over at Guitarworld.com. It’s a slowed down section of a song called “Inception of the End” and it sounds pretty promising. I’m liking the riff and of course the solo section is fantastic. I’m hoping the rest of the album goes in this direction musically, as it sounds pretty metal. Not that “In Waves” was a bad track, but it wasn’t exactly “bad ass” either. Watch the vid at the link above and weigh in with some thoughts.
-Dan
2011 Mayhem Festival details revealed…
Well, I could have told you this a week ago, but thought there may be some changes in the lineup; so I waited for the “official” press release, which turns out is basically the same.
This year’s edition will feature Disturbed, Godsmack, Megadeth, Machine Head, Trivium, In Flames, All Shall Perish, Straight Line Stitch, Kingdom of Sorrow, Unearth, Suicide Silence and Red Fang. A couple dates will see Testament and Dethklok fill in for Megadeth, and other lineup details can be viewed HERE.
Dates are as followed:
7/9 – San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheatre
7/10 – San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
7/12 – Seattle, WA @ White River Amphitheater
7/13 – Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
7/15 – Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Wireless Pavilion
7/16 – Albuquerque, NM @ Hard Rock Casino Presents: The Pavilion
7/17 – Denver, CO @ Comfort Dental Amphitheatre
7/19 – St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7/20 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
7/22 – Boston, MA @ Comcast Center
7/23 – Montreal, QUE @ Parc Jean Drapeau
7/24 – Hartford, CT @ The Comcast Theatre
7/27 – Holmdel, NJ @ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center
7/29 – Pittsburgh, PA @ First Niagara Pavilion
7/30 – Washington, DC @ Jiffy Lube Live
7/31 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
8/2 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless V. Beach Amphitheater
8/3 – Raleigh, NC @ Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
8/5 – Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8/6 – Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
8/7 – Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
8/9 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Zoo Amphitheatre
8/10 – Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
8/12 – Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
8/13 – Tampa, FL @ 1-800-Ask-Gary-Amphitheatre
8/14 – West Palm Beach, FL @ Cruzan Amphitheater
There will be all the people (including me) that will complain about not as many “extreme” acts on the bill; but in the end, half the people going will be there to stare blankly at the second and third stage bands, then go inside to rock out in their hot topic shirts to Godsmack and Disturbed. With In Flames announcing earlier on their facebook page that recording was complete, hopefully we can hear some new stuff from them, as well as possibly hearing new stuff from Trivium, maaaaaybe Machine Head, and Unearth, not to mention All Shall Perish and Megadeth are still playing! At least we can beat the traffic home much like Korn allowed us to do last year!
-Chris
Monday’s Metal Scraps
Well-Oiled Machine Head crushes an already Limp Bizkit
An internet war of words was finally put to rest Sunday when Machine Head played directly before Limp Bizkit at the U.K. Sonisphere festival. Machine Head initially dropped off the festival due to unknowingly being bumped down a slot in favor of Limp Bizkit. A day before the show, front man Rob Flynn vowed on the bands message board to “fucking CRUSH LIMP BIZKIT!”
After the festival, the war of words continued as Limp Bizkit’s DJ Lethal tweeted/twitted/twatted: “Just finished playing at Sonisphere festival in London with NIN and METALLICA…as for (MACHINE HEAD), hahaha, the only thing crushed was your egos. Lol…Suck it!!!!”
In response, Mr. Flynn posted the following:
“Tonight was one of the biggest ego boosts we’ve ever had! Not that we had shit to do with it, but it was funny how the crowd chanted ‘MACHINE FUCKING HEAD’ in between every song that LIMP BIZKIT played tonight, and they didn’t say SHIT about it onstage except ‘MACHINE HEAD is hard, and their fans are hard.’ Now that their they’re away from our crowd and our stage, now [DJ Lethal’s] an Internet tough guy. And this is coming from the guy wearing a MACHINE HEAD shirt ONSTAGE tonight… hmmm… NICE!
“By the way, we had 21 circle pits today!! That is a new record for the U.K. Our previous record at [U.K.’s] Download [festival] was 12 circle pits.
“Today we made fucking history, Sonisphere!!! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!
“If there’s any doubt, footage from both sets will appear sooner or later.”
In the end, Machine Head did the only thing they needed to do; play a concert. There’s no need for the internet grumbling back and forth, the music speaks for itself. Machine Head are on top of their game, Limp Bizkit is old news. It makes both bands look stupid for arguing over the internet and makes Machine Head look almost worse for continuing the typing war. In the end your playing for the fans; and in this case, the fans quite obviously let it be known who’s side they were on.
Let the Fall touring begin!
Mastodon and Dethklok will co-headline a North American tour with support coming from High on Fire and Converge. Dates here.
Trivium have also announced headlining dates with White Chapel, Darkest Hour, and Dirge Within supporting. Dates here.
-Chris
DC Metal Review 