Machine Head released “Of Kingdom and Crown” via Nuclear Blast — the first concept album of their career, and according to Blabbermouth, which gave it a perfect 10/10, “the greatest album they have ever made, inch for inch.”
Country: USA
Genre: Groove Metal / Metalcore
For fans of: Lamb of God, Gojira, Fear Factory
The listen
After the controversial 2018 “Catharsis,” Robb Flynn and company return under the weight of great expectations — and answer with an hour-long assault that leaves no room for doubt. It is Machine Head’s first record with Decapitated founder Vogg on guitar, while Navene Koperweis (ex-Animals as Leaders) sits behind the kit. The result is their hardest, tightest and most modern album.
The concept tells a dystopian story of two troubled protagonists whose lives become entangled with tragic consequences — for the first time Flynn writes from another person’s point of view, with his most vivid and poetic lyrics. “Become the Firestorm” has one of the record’s best breakdowns, “Unhallowed” a celebratory old-school chorus, while the Flynn/McEachern harmonies touch the magical.
“No Gods, No Masters” has a stadium chorus, “Kill Thy Enemies” the album’s dirtiest riff, and the chemistry of the Flynn/Vogg lead guitars is everywhere. The band’s trademark harmonic squeals find some of their most inventive uses here. “A murderous musical raid that brings passion, technique and a million ideas into a cyclone of massive riffs and even bigger hooks” —
Tracklist
1. Slaughter the Martyr
2. Choke on the Ashes of Your Hate
3. Become the Firestorm
4. Overdose
5. My Hands Are Empty
6. Unhallowed
7. Assimilate
8. Kill Thy Enemies
9. No Gods, No Masters
10. Bloodshot
11. Rotten
12. Terminus
13. Arrows in Words from the Sky
See also
Fear Factory: They played the new single live · Gojira – L’Enfant Sauvage
