Album Review: Machine Head - Catharsis

"Fuck the world!" smashes Robb Flynn at us. With these pithy words, the latest work of the Bay Area neo-thrashers starts and Flynn seems to mean it quite seriously, because "Catharsis" is an album that you would not have expected from the band. A 15-song volcanic eruption full of pain and anger, hope and joy, melody and wildness. The real catharsis of this juicy new Machine Head album is the hearty middle finger towards all purists. The metal monsters have long since freed themselves from their cage. With «Catharsis», Machine Head release a call for total resistance.

So here it is, the first major musical blockbuster of 2018. Four years after the rather mediocre «Bloodstone & Diamonds», the wait for the successor is finally over. «Catharsis» continues Machine Heads long tradition of writing songs about reality and authentic, tangible emotions that profoundly affect humanity. "Bloodstone & Diamonds" was surprisingly straightforward after the truly epic masterpiece "Into The Locust" and the even greater "The Blackening". The Neo-Thrash perfected by Machine Head was retained, but the compositions were already simpler, song-serving and hit-oriented - which not everyone liked. «Catharsis» will not only heat people's spirits, but actually blow them up.

MACHINE HEAD: Catharsis - "Beyond The Pale" (OFFICIAL TRACK)

With the previous album and the melodic title "Is There Anybody Out There?", released as a single song, a response to the racism scandal surrounding Pantera shouter Phil Anselmo, Machine Head already set the musical course for the new record. Certainly many fans would have been happy about a second "The Blackening" or even an equal heir to the groundbreaking debut "Burn My Eyes". However, the risk of becoming a plagiarist of one's own works would have been high. Then it's better to flee to the front: The acoustic piece "Behind A Mask" plays with melancholy alternative ballads, "Heavy Lies The Crown" develops from a claustrophobic whisper song to a full-fledged thrasher and "Bastards" is a politically motivated, folk-oriented one Song that secures a place on the podium of the most exciting Machine Head exotics.

MACHINE HEAD - Bastards (OFFICIAL TRACK)

Apart from the occasional melodic drop-out almost every track is a treasure. When it comes to craftsmanship, Robb Flynn and his men are still great. In addition, in the near future it will be impossible to surpass the production quality of «Catharsis». The band and above all producer Zack Haken managed to pack all the instruments into a monumental sound structure and to give the whole thing a transparent variety, despite modern technology and great production values ​​with all kinds of special effects. The skilful arrangements give each instrument enough space to develop. There aren't a hundred tracks that overwhelm the listener and would never be possible to do live anyway. A prime example of this is the excellent double solo on «Beyond The Pale», in which both guitars naturally complement each other on the lead level, while only MacEachern's bass pushes in from below. No additional rhythm track, no superfluous playing around - and yet the solo sticks in your head like no other! Sensational! In terms of craftsmanship, there is nothing to complain about anyway. The breakdown in the opener «Volatile», which is quite unspectacular at first hearing, reveals insane guitar skills on closer inspection. In general, the attention to detail can be heard in every song, Machine Head mean what they want to say on «Catharsis».

An hour and fifteen minutes of music awaits the listener on «Catharsis», broken up into 15 individual tracks that all stand for themselves. Robb Flynn is able to write great, subtle yet weighty and aggressive lyrics. Above all, his unequivocal political positions have brought Robb some unforeseen attention in recent months. The mere fact that an artist rooted in punk and metal with a clearly expressed rejection of any racist ideas has recently been able to polarize in the comment columns of the so-called social media says a lot about the social conditions of our time. On "Catharsis" Machine Head dig a little in their own past. Delicately, especially in areas that were not enthusiastically received by all fans at the time. With rap elements and drug issues, "Triple Beam" looks like a quick look in the rear-view mirror, and the phase surrounding "The Burning Red" is also briefly tapped into.

MACHINE HEAD - Volatile (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)

When listening to "Catharsis" it becomes finally clear that what was said in no way served the purpose of album promotion, but continues uncompromisingly on the record. The result is on the one hand the most political and on the other hand the most lyrically and musically schizophrenic album that Machine Head have ever released and thus the absolute opposite of "play it safe" on many different levels. What initially seems like a structureless patchwork quilt turns out to be quite exciting after repeated listening. As a total work of art, "Catharsis" is a declaration of war on everything backward-looking and breaks a loudly cracking lance for the freaks. The whole thing sounds really good thanks to thrashing fury and spot on melodies!

Tracklist:

1. volatile
2. Catharsis
3. Beyond The Pale
4. California bleeding
5. Triple Beam
6. Kaleidoscope
7. Bastards
8. Hope Gets Hope
9. Screaming At The Sun.
10. Behind a mask
11. Heavy Lies The Crown
12. Psychotic
13. Grind you down
14. Razorblade Smile
15. Eulogy

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