Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Machine Head
Label: Nuclear Blast
Released: year_month
Running time: 74:26
Rating: 3/5
California metallers Machine Head have been a bone of contention since day one. Maybe they’re not as famous as the »Big Four«, but every album they put out is hugely anticipated. And with every record the band wins some new fans and loses a few, because they like to reinvent their style. Over their career they’ve dipped into plenty of styles. They never went to extremes, but by mixing certain genres they became something unique and instantly recognizable.
The buzz around the new album Catharsis was much like it was for the previous ones, which is standard practice with Machine Head. Bands usually just say the new album will be their best, but with Machine Head there’s always a whole novel on top, courtesy of frontman Robb Flynn. This time he even announced that the album wouldn’t be known as the heaviest, most powerful MH release. So, a change! Flynn stressed that the album would be more melodic and would also have songs in the vein of The Burning Red, only with the production of the recent albums. So Machine Head are going back to nu metal, which somehow doesn’t bode well.
The album offers a whopping 15 tracks with a final running time of around 75 minutes, which is way above the length of the band’s other albums. That practically begs for a few fillers, although if the band really worked hard for the last three years, there might be a surprise or two in store.
Catharsis opens relatively solidly and punchily with Volatile. It’s not exactly an epic, crushing opener, but its punch and speed still kick off this long creation nicely. The problem is that Volatile sounds kind of familiar. The beginning reminds of Cleansation by Chimaira, and later there’s a section that recalls Surfacing by Slipknot. Right from the start Machine Head seem a bit unoriginal, and inventing something new has become a whole art form here. On top of that you get socially critical lyrics that are roughly on the Ektomorf level. Next up is the title track, which got the metal community on the internet seriously worked up. The song is dreamy and melodic, the chorus is nice, there’s not enough punch, but as a whole the thing works. On the other hand, you can feel the difference, even though the flirting with bands like Bullet For My Valentine is pretty obvious. Nothing overly new, MH conquered metalcore back in 2003. The song Beyond The Pale was the first one released, and the internet riff police immediately noticed that the band borrowed the main riff from »Love?« by Strapping Young Lad. Setting that main accusation aside, the song is pretty typical of the band, with its groovy punch and a solid solo from Phil Demmel. With California Bleeding things really get stuck. Its bouncy nu metal attitude recalls those MTV-hit nu metal songs of the band, like From This Day and American High. With California Bleeding it feels like those two songs finally got their closure and a proper trilogy. With Triple Beam the album’s potential is still draining away. There’s a feeling of nostalgia, since it recalls nineties rap metal in the style of Biohazard and the like. It would definitely be digestible if Flynn didn’t push his anger so hard with teenage lyrics, because instrumentally it’s very listenable. The cliché parade goes on with Kaleidoscope, which at first promises some ass-kicking, but with the lyrics and the chorus the song loses its potential. Well, the peak of cheesiness is reached with Bastards, which stylistically recalls Celtic punk in the vein of Dropkick Murphys and the like. It’s a pretty shocking thing that hurt practically every fan of the band.
By the time »Bastards« rolls around, many a listener has probably given up on the album, but then hope shows up. Machine Head took too many detours, and they tried something new that clashes quite a bit with their earlier albums. The hope arrives with Hope Begets Hope, which delivers some pretty powerful music in the style of Through the Ashes of Empires, and Screaming at the Sun is similar, though it’s merely average. MH have shown before that they know how to do a ballad, and this time they offer Behind the Mask, which is fully acoustic and, accordingly, syrupy sweet. It’s more than obvious that with the shorter songs and the ballad Machine Head were truly aiming at a bigger audience this time. So far it looks like that move didn’t pay off.
After Behind the Mask the music takes a serious turn. Machine Head surprise with Heavy Lies The Crown, which is the longest song on the album, but as is well known with Machine Head, the band can write an interesting long song that slowly builds until it explodes at some point. And so the listener gets the most aggressive music on the album, which has been sorely missed throughout the record. MH haven’t said their last word yet, which is further confirmed by the next three songs. Grind You Down especially stands out, delivering properly pissed-off music with a heavy breakdown. The last third of the album is definitely something that improves the overall bad impression.
Machine Head close Catharsis with Eulogy, which with its darkness pushes the punch to the back so the atmosphere takes center stage. For comparison, it recalls the closing track of The Burning Red. The ending is decent, but it doesn’t top those epic closers on the earlier albums.
Catharsis has quite a few problems. It’s simply too long, which results in fillers, and there are too many of them. Some songs could easily have been dropped, shoved into a »b-side« section and offered as bonus tracks. The second problem is that this time MH didn’t quite know what they wanted to say. You can’t feel a common thread, and the ups and downs keep coming. The songs have good parts, but as a whole they don’t convince. It’s logical that the band wanted to do something different, hence so much more melody and more vocal harmonies. Different doesn’t automatically mean bad, it mostly just feels lost. Still, the trademark MH sound that the band has kept up for the last 15 years is still there. Instrumentally the thing doesn’t stumble. The rhythm section is still rock solid, the guitars deliver plenty of heavy riffs, the »squeals« (pinch harmonics) don’t go missing, and the solos fit into the songs nicely, thanks to the capable guitarist Phil Demmel. What doesn’t convince are the lyrics and the vocals. Robb Flynn, who turned 50 last year, no longer has real power, and a lot of the choruses sound forced. As for the lyrics, it’s more than obvious that social media and all the negativity that comes with it have started to affect him too, so Flynn often comes across like an offended teenager. All we can do here is hope it’s (once again) just a phase.
With Catharsis, an album of ups and downs, Machine Head took a big gamble. The band didn’t rerun its previous album. It tried something new and different, and plenty of people aren’t buying it. Catharsis can be read as a misstep or as a bold experiment. Time will tell whether the move paid off.
Lineup
Robb Flynn – vocals, guitar, production
Phil Demmel – guitar
Jared MacEachern – bass, vocals
Dave McClain – drums
Production
Zack Ohren
Tracklist
- Volatile
- Catharsis
- Beyond The Pale
- California Bleeding
- Triple Beam
- Kaleidoscope
- Bastards
- Hope Begets Hope
- Screaming At The Sun
- Behind A Mask
- Heavy Lies The Crown
- Psychotic
- Grind You Down
- Razorblade Smile
- Eulogy
