Released: Nov 13, 2012
Genre: Groove metal, thrash metal
Label: Roadrunner
Number Of Tracks: 15
Right from the start, with the crowd chanting "Machine F--king Head!", you know that this album is going to be intense.
Machine F**king Head LiveFeatured review by: UG Team, on november 12, 2012 1 of 3 people found this review helpful
Sound: Right from the start, with the crowd chanting "Machine F--king Head! Machine F--king Head! Machine F--king Head!", you know that this album is going to be intense. Where live albums usually suffer is in mixing due to the conditions under which live albums have to be recorded, but the job done on this album is exceptional. The right crowd sounds are captured, but not to the point where they are muddying up the music. The playing is really phenomenal for live shows, and while Machine Head has always played well live, they must have paid special care to pick the best performances of each song from their touring. Something that comes across in live shows that a lot of times is missing in the studio is the actual energy and aggressiveness of music, and both are displayed to great effect on this album.
Phil Demmel's lead work on the album is great, Dave McClain's drumming is immaculate and Adam Duce keeps the songs pounding out relentlessly. There are 2 discs, with 9 tracks on the first and 6 tracks on the second. The total runtime of the album is right at an hour and 40 minutes. From beginning to end the playing is strong, the stage banter is entertaining and the whole album sounds really AGGRESSIVE!!! The song selection from the album is awesome – while the songs are predominantly from their newest album, Unto the Locust, there are songs added in from throughout their career. They included "Davidian" and "Old" from their first album, "Ten Ton Hammer" from "The More Things Change...", "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears" from "The Burning Red", "Bulldozer" from "Supercharger", "Imperium" from "Through The Ashes Of Empires", and "Halo" and "Aesthetics Of Hate" from "The Blackening". It makes a really good mix, and the banter with the crowd between songs really helps you feel like you are there with them. // 10
Lyrics and Singing: Robb Flynn does a great job throughout the album. Something that often suffers on live albums is the vocalist's voice starts getting strained and weak or hoarse, but Robb Flynn is a soldier and his voice is solid. The lyrics are of course the lyrics from the original songs – I didn't catch any impromptu lyric changes, though there may be a few there. The added banter with the crowd makes the experience of listening to the album much more enjoyable. // 8
Impression: I have to say "Machine F--king Head Live" has got to be my favorite live album from 2012 so far, and really my favorite live album for probably a few years now. I personally have a pretty decent imagination, and I will occasionally sit back in my recliner with some headphones with a live album and listen start to finish, eyes closed, just picturing the concert happening around me. That was surprisingly easy for me to do with this album. My favorite performances from the album were probably "Locust", "Aesthetics Of Hate", "Old" and "Darkness Within". It also reminded me about some of Machine Head's earlier material that I used to really enjoy that I had almost forgotten about. This is an excellent album, live or otherwise, and I absolutely do not regret my purchase.
I say "Will be remembered as one of the ONLY Heavy Metal band that was born in the early 90s and is not only still going strong, but gets better as time passes"
In the grand scheme of things, Machine Head will eventually be remembered as one of the true "Big 4", and not Anthrax.
can Machine Head replace Anthrax? no. is Machine Head heavier than Anthrax? Fuck yes! Unto the locust was so much better than worship music. but that is not what will get Machine Head into the Big 4 because the Big 4 is about the first 4 bands that started thrash, it is not a promotion you can work up to. but who really gives a crap about that Machine Head ****ing rules!
Right, maybe if you count a metal band's worth by whether or not they 'grace' the pages of Revolver. Do you even know what the Big 4 is? The "Big 4" of original thrash metal. And speaking of which, the dudes in Machine Head kicked out better thrash in Vio-lence, before the cheap Adidas track suits or the lame neanderthal, tough guy bullshit.
I do love Machine Head and from the tracks I've heard so far, it sounds awesome... But I really do think that Phil and Adam need to work on the strength of their backing vocals.
