MACHINE HEAD – Bloodstone & Diamonds
January 28, 2015, 9 years ago
(Nuclear Blast)
Bloodstone & Diamonds is the eighth album from Oakland, California’s Machine Head; and their debut for Nuclear Blast. It’s also the first release without bassist Adam Duce, who parted ways with the band in 2013 - and has since been replaced by Jared MacEachearn - leaving vocalist / guitarist Robb Flynn as the only remaining original member. Album opener “Now We Die” is both epic and divisive. The inclusion of a string quartet adds unnecessary polish to the welcome heavy metal explosion that is the rest of the song. Apart from the classical intrusion, this is a brilliant beginning to a heaping pile of thrash; with 12 intricate songs spanning 71 minutes, there’s a lot of music to digest. “Killers & Kings” is built around a chorus perfectly designed for a concert hall full of sweaty Head-cases to scream back at the band; bound to be a staple in the live set for years to come. Lyrically, “Night Of Long Knives” is about the Manson Family Murders of 1969; and the music is just as violent as the subject matter. “Sail Into The Black” is one of several songs that suffers from an over-extended introduction; in this case Gregorian-style chanting; it isn’t until the four-minute mark that it really kicks in, and Robb sings, “Burn My Eyes… we’ve come so far,” quite obviously an autobiographical statement harkening back to 1994. “Beneath The Silt” is a dynamic chugger that surprisingly has Flynn sounding rather soft vocally. Robb more than makes up for this on “In Comes The Flood”, during which he spits pure vitriol: “I want to burn down Wall Street… I don’t give a fuck if I’m rich mother fucker!” Hate to say it, but “Damage Inside” could be deleted entirely as it’s nothing more than a forgettable interlude. “Game Over” is simpler than the lion’s share of material that came before it, but still excites. “Imaginal Cells” is an instrumental featuring samples from the audiobook, Spontaneous Evolution by Dr. Bruce Lipton and Steve Bhaerman; essentially a throw-away track. However, trim back the fat, and what’s left is top notch material. Lead guitarist Phil Demmel and drummer Dave McClain are superb in their performances. Overall, the good parts are so damn good! It’s just that shadows of superfluous production lurk in almost every corner. That being said, there’s certainly no shortage of aggression on B&D;, and it’s well worth buying.