Bloodstone & Diamonds

Author: Primož Novak

Artist: Machine Head
Label: Nuclear Blast
Release: year_month
Length: 1:10:57
Rating: 4.5/5

Oakland outfit Machine Head have enjoyed a pretty solid reputation on the metal scene for the past decade. Still, they’ve been criticized more than once for chasing trends too much. The main thing to mention here is the band’s nu metal phase, which luckily lasted only two albums (Burning Red and Supercharger). In 2003 Machine Head came back with the metal album Through The Ashes Of Empires, which won back people’s trust in the band, and a former associate of Robb Flynn, Phil Demmel, who had played with him in the thrash metal band Vio-Lence, joined the lineup. But Machine Head’s big boom came with The Blackening (2007), which lifted the quality of the music itself to a much higher level. The songs got longer, more epic, more polished, and so on. Unto The Locust followed a similar pattern. It didn’t score quite the same success, but the band kept growing its audience and racked up a good number of headlining tours, and they were the main attraction at plenty of festivals too. Including Metalcamp 2012.

Before the creative process for Bloodstone & Diamonds, Machine Head went through a bit of a rough patch. After plenty of disagreements, they had to part ways with original bassist Adam Duce, who was replaced by the young Jared MacEachern. Then came the exit from Roadrunner Records, where they’d been from the very start. Finding a new label didn’t take long, though, since established bands quickly land on some big label. And of course Machine Head ended up under the wing of today’s biggest metal label, Nuclear Blast. That naturally raised the question of whether the band might be under pressure from the label to write shorter songs and win over an even bigger audience.

And it did happen: this time Machine Head really didn’t hit us with yet another album full of 10-minute songs with endless riffs. But it’d be hard to claim this was a label order. Machine Head would have started repeating themselves quite a bit if they’d made another album similar to the previous two. Looking at the big picture, the band’s style hasn’t changed. Over one hour and ten minutes you get a ton of hard-hitting thrash and groove metal riffs, the odd hardcore move here and there, and plenty of emotional stretches where Flynn’s melodic vocals stand out.

That Machine Head took a slightly different path is clear from the very first track, Now We Die, which after a short string intro hits with heavy guitars and a punchy rhythm section in typical MH fashion. In the past, MH loved their long intros, which they used to give a song an epic feel, and that certainly worked, but Now We Die became a hit in no time, one the crowd will gladly embrace at gigs. After that they serve up the thrashy Killers & Kings, tailor-made for the older fans. The album’s concept is built much like the previous ones, but this time with shorter songs. The listener gets fast tracks as well as slower ones where the band leans on groove. And of course MH haven’t forgotten all those melodic sing a long choruses that have always been a staple.

After repeated listens, you start to feel that MH made the album too long, since some songs seem stretched out, and you could even call them fillers. First off, there’s Beneath The Silt, where Flynn uses a bit too much whiny vocal, but the groove riffs and Demmel’s solo quickly fix that bad first impression. It gets stickier with Game Over, which sounds like a track from Supercharger on steroids. The guitars, and especially the vocals, flirt way too much with nu metal, which stopped being a trend ages ago. It gets stickier still with Damage Inside, which starts out a cappella, with a lead guitar joining in later. Whether this track was really needed on this album is highly questionable.

Bloodstone & Diamonds definitely has plenty of interesting stuff going on, like Night Of Long Knives, which deals with the Charles Manson murders, or the economically critical In Comes The Flood (which also includes a cover of the patriotic song America the Beautiful), where Flynn, with a string of curses, slams greedy bankers and calls on America to rise up. To give the song its epic feel, there are strings as well, which match the melodies and vocals perfectly. You could say In Comes The Flood is pretty much the high point of the album.

Another interesting one is Sail Into The Black, which builds slowly, but along the way MH let you know they did a bit of experimenting too. With keyboards, strings and Flynn’s calm vocals, Sail Into The Black gives off a creepy vibe and an incredible atmosphere, peaking with some real punch and a great Demmel solo.

The album wraps up fairly promisingly. After the instrumental Imaginal Cells, which features a spoken-word bit in the style of Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies from Burn My Eyes, Machine Head close with Take Me Through The Fire, which, compared to the closers on the previous three albums, isn’t nearly as pompous. It’s just a pretty typical track with nothing too special about it.

Either way, you have to admit the band has proven itself again. On some tracks it’s more than obvious they put in a lot of effort. The band’s form isn’t flagging either. Robb Flynn’s vocals still sound angry, and only his melodic singing gets a little hoarse at times. The guitars of the Flynn and Demmel duo are undoubtedly a standout factor. Demmel often surprises with exceptional soloing that’s distinctive and inventive. Drummer Dave McClain has enlarged his drum kit, but his style hasn’t changed one bit. McClain is definitely not a weak spot. He’s got a feel for groove and clever transitions, and he can still fill every potential gap without question. The slightly weaker link is bassist Jared MacEachern, who more or less just backs up the guitars. You can hear him, sure, but sadly there’s no standout line from him to be heard.

As for the production, there’s probably no need to stress that it’s a pretty massive affair, with Juan Urteaga, Colin Richardson and Andy Sneap all involved. Fittingly, and as MH are known for, the sound is powerful, something not just any band can afford despite the flood of polished-up bands out there.  

With their eighth album, Machine Head proved they’re nowhere near running out of steam. They’ve still got plenty of imagination when it comes to songwriting, it just gets a bit stuck at moments, which shows in the odd filler. Fans will undoubtedly embrace this album, because they’ll get a strong release full of emotional flavor.

Lineup

Robb Flynn – guitar

Phil Demmel – guitar

Dave McClain – drums

Jared MacEachern – bass

Production

Juan Urteaga, Robb Flynn, Colin Richardson, Andy Sneap

Tracklist