Machine Head
UNATØNED
Nuclear Blast
No other band’s discography has divided the metal community like that of Machine Head. A genuine desire for sonic exploration has led to accusations of trend-hopping, yet an overview of their career evidences a sincere evolution. However, there’s no denying that of late the band have been playing to their strengths, leading to a string of critically-acclaimed albums, of which UNATØNED is undoubtedly a highpoint. As you’d expect from a band who’ve been in the game for three-and-a-half-decades, they know how to build tension and ensure that when the album kicks in with ‘Atømic Revelatiøns’, it kicks in hard. Experimentation is still very much present, and no more so than on ‘These Scars Wøn’t Define Us’. Featuring heavyweights In Flames, Lacuna Coil and Unearth, it’s a collaboration of Clash Of The Titans proportions, and in a case of fortune favouring the brave, it really works. It doesn’t sound cluttered, and with each band bringing their own spice to the party, makes for an intoxicating cocktail. As with every Machine Head album, this release has its own aesthetic, and that permeating here is one of heaviness. UNATØNED finds Machine Head making good.
Review by Peter Dennis.