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MACHINE HEAD
Unatøned

Nuclear Blast (2025)
Rating: 3/10

When Machine Head released their debut album, Burn My Eyes, back in 1994 I honestly thought I was hearing a band that would save the 90s. However, their rapid capitulation into trend-hopping nu-metal wannabes was laughable to the point that when I questioned the band’s credibility in an online forum many a year ago, the one and only mainman Rob Flynn replied in mature fashion with a “It must suck to be you!”. I’d clearly touched a nerve, but how can one defend the all white denim outfits and tepid groove rap metal aping or the audible monstrosities that were the Supercharger (2001) and Catharsis (2018) albums?

However, since the album The Blackening (2007), it seems that Machine Head became “metal” again, but I’ve never been convinced in spite of the customary switch to a more “metal” look. There is of course a sense of the contrived and manufactured about it all, or maybe it’s the sceptical side of me, but here we are with Machine Head’s 11th full-length outing.

Unatøned begins with promise as ‘Atømic Revelatiøns’ charges from the traps with Flynn barking: “Baptizer, Christen the unknown, This wretched hellfire disintegrates bone, Paint this world in ash and stone, Life’s destruction we enthrone”. It seems convincing and it’s certainly heavy, and is contrasted by the clear vocals, which all works, but as with so many Machine Head albums the highs are sporadic. Further clean vocals are applied to ‘Bleeding Me Dry’, a heavy but dated heap so embedded in a scene that existed 20 years ago it just proves a point to the directionless stature of the band.

Maybe some of the dim witted (i.e. die hard) fans may hear this entire trope as Machine Head experimenting, although it’s all just so dull and soulless, but more obviously lacking focus. ‘Øutsider’ appears out of nowhere as a catchy and almost commercial track, ‘Addicted Tø Pain’ is one of the band’s worst lyrically, although it could hint that Flynn is somewhat aware of how bands sell their soul within the industry (or maybe not), and ‘Shards Øf Shattered Dreams’ is just tiresome.

I tried to approach Unatøned with fresh ears, but soon they became clogged with dull as dishwater dynamics and undercooked melodies. It’s as if Machine Head, even with the constant sub-genre tinkering, is now completely bereft of aggression. And as for those lyrics, well, even if they stem from a genuine place, hearing Flynn croon “There’s no pain without living life, This liquor helps cope with the strife, We talked of you being my wife, Picket fences, some kids, and two bikes, But all that was a fantasy lost in our haze, Through all of the weed smoke and piles of cocaine, A pharmacy of Vicodin, Percs, refillers, You and I were worst friend’s best painkillers” on the aforementioned ‘Bleeding Me Dry’ is just cheese with an even cheesier topping.

I’ve no doubt that some will appreciate the occasional flashes of metalcore or even emo on ‘Scørn’, the inclusion of strings on ‘Nøt Løng Før This Wørld’, and the nu-metal aesthetic of ‘Unbøund’, but never has a band sounded so sanitised and soulless, which is saying something when you consider how bad some of Machine Head’s discography is.

On the plus side, some of the riffs are decent and the occasional melody is catchy, but while some, in fact many, may see this as the band evolving, all I hear is a weak and confusing array of songs lessened even further by the dreadful vocals. Rob, it might suck to be me, but damn, it sucks harder to be in Machine Head.

Neil Arnold

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