{"id":17105,"date":"2014-11-17T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-machine-head-bloodstone-and\/"},"modified":"2018-03-17T15:06:27","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T15:06:27","slug":"album-review-machine-head-bloodstone-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-machine-head-bloodstone-and\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Machine Head &#8211; Bloodstone and Diamonds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/78.media.tumblr.com\/d5794897fb51ac7bd2ea9629572628e6\/tumblr_inline_nf50e6CpRe1qztcot.jpg\" width=\"150px\" alt=\"\" title=\"\">Everyone loves a good face-melter. <strong>Machine Head<\/strong>&rsquo;s latest offering, <em>\u2019Bloodstone and Diamonds\u2019<\/em>, pits itself against their timeless album <em>\u2018The Blackening\u2019<\/em> and completely equalises in every way. From gut-wrenching vocals to riffs you wouldn\u2019t even dream of attempting to air guitar, this record proves the thrash legends are back.<\/p>\n<p>The California set have done it all &#8211; from supporting Slayer with their first album to touring with the likes of Lamb Of God and headlining Soundwave Festival in Australia. Now setting off on a UK tour with Darkest Hour beginning in December, it&rsquo;s as if <strong>Machine Head<\/strong> have always been there, constant thrash legends, but they are by no means wallflowers. Since the mixed reception of 2011\u2019s <em>\u2019Unto The Locust\u2019<\/em>, this new record is exactly what we expected from the princes of metal &#8211; same old perfect formula of storming vocals, mind-boggling guitar work and punishing drums, accompanied by the tiniest of soundtrack-worthy backing to take their unquestionable legacy up a notch.<!-- more --><\/p>\n<p>Opening the record with the string instrumental of <em>\u2018Now We Die\u2019<\/em> destroys every expectation of this new record, but it\u2019s not long before Robb Flynn\u2019s vocals burst in triumphant. While lyrically astounding, for example <em>\u201dashes to ashes, the ocean crashes\u201d<\/em>, the beautifully nostalgic high note solo demonstrates <strong>Machine Head<\/strong> are very much back on form. <em>\u2018Killers and Kings\u2019<\/em> introduces gang vocals raising venomous dialogue with Flynn\u2019s raw existential vocals, while a Korn-esque whisper section adds a truck load of atmosphere to build into a crescendo of punishing drums and relentless riffs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> The <em>\u2018Halo\u2019<\/em>-style opening line of <em>\u2018Ghosts Will Haunt My Bones\u2019<\/em> contrasts with the seductively subdued vocals we never quite expected from <strong>Machine Head<\/strong>. Adding a surreal, atmospheric depth amongst the brutality, this anthem of persistence of the past is a new turn for <strong>Machine Head<\/strong> and a very welcome one at that. The lyrics <em>\u201cghosts will haunt my bones, they won&rsquo;t leave me alone\u201d<\/em> appear more defeatist than their usual chants of defiance, but somehow suit them.<\/p>\n<p>In true <strong>Machine Head<\/strong> fashion, what begins as the repetitive 4 minutes of <em>\u2018Sail Into The Black\u2019<\/em> soon kick into a storming anthem of colossal proportions. Continuing this theme through <em>\u2018In Comes The Flood\u2019<\/em>, opening with an epic soundtrack heralding the next 7 minutes of face-melting middle fingers up to the American Dream fallacy, this showcases the best screaming solo on the record. While <em>\u2018Eyes Of The Dead\u2019<\/em> is full of tricky and infectious guitar work we&rsquo;ve come to expect from King Flynn and co, the riff in <em>\u2018Beneath The Silt\u2019<\/em> is like someone taking a sledgehammer to your crown jewels &#8211; brutal, unforgiving and you&rsquo;ll never be the same again. Similarly, <em>\u2018Take Me Through The Fire\u2019<\/em> closes the record on a defiant stand of solidarity and a punishing riff that proves the band are back at their peak, and there&rsquo;s no sign of coming back down. <\/p>\n<p><em>\u2018Game Over\u2019<\/em>&rsquo;s vengeance anthem displays Flynn&rsquo;s vocals at their most genuine &#8211; raw, unadulterated and unashamed. This catchy, unexpectedly punk-infused track is a fantastic new direction for them, and however strange it may sound, they take it all in their gigantic, majestic stride. <em>\u2019Bloodstone and Diamonds\u2019<\/em> also takes <strong>Machine Head<\/strong> into another new realm &#8211; approaching concept tracks. <em>\u2018Imaginal Cells\u2019<\/em> is that unexpected one you\u2019ll probably never listen to again, but it\u2019s worth having there the first time around simply for dramatic effect. Combining a manipulated scientific speech on weapons of mass disaster with accompanying complex riffs, the rising trend as we\u2019ve already seen this year from Architect\u2019s <em>\u2018Red Hypergiant\u2019<\/em> is spreading fast. However, the album would be incomplete were it not for the solemn reflection of <em>\u2018Damage Inside\u2019<\/em>, giving heart-rates a rest and jaws a chance to pick themselves up from the floor.<\/p>\n<p>From start to finish, <em>\u2019Bloodstone and Diamonds\u2019<\/em> is classic <strong>Machine Head<\/strong> adapted to meet our expectations of music in 2014. With the exception of <em>\u2018Imaginal Cells\u2019<\/em>, this could well have topped <em>\u2018The Blackening\u2019<\/em>, but there\u2019ll be no questioning <em>\u2018Beneath The Silt\u2019<\/em> and <em>\u2018Now We Die\u2019<\/em> have brought <strong>Machine Head<\/strong> right back to their thrash best.<\/p>\n<p>4.5\/5<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2019Bloodstone and Diamonds\u2019<\/em> by <strong>Machine Head<\/strong> is out now on <strong>Nuclear Blast<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Machine Head<\/strong> links: <a href=\"\/\/machinehead1.com%E2%80%9D\">Official Website<\/a>|<a href=\"\/\/www.facebook.com\/MachineHead%E2%80%9D\">Facebook<\/a>|<a href=\"\/\/twitter.com\/mfnh%E2%80%9D\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Words by Ali Cooper (<a href=\"\/\/twitter.com\/alizombie_%E2%80%9D\">@AliZombie_<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Everyone loves a good face-melter. Machine Head&rsquo;s latest offering, \u2019Bloodstone and Diamonds\u2019, pits itself against their timeless album \u2018The Blackening\u2019 and completely equalises in every way. From gut-wrenching vocals to riffs you wouldn\u2019t even dream of attempting to air guitar, this record proves the thrash legends are back. The California set have done it all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,8181],"tags":[5879,7767,257,3860],"class_list":["post-17105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-reviews","category-post","tag-album-reviews","tag-bloodstone-and-diamonds","tag-machine-head","tag-nuclear-blast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Album Review: Machine Head - Bloodstone and Diamonds - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everyone loves a good face-melter. 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Machine Head&rsquo;s latest offering, \u2019Bloodstone and Diamonds\u2019, pits itself against their timeless album \u2018The","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Album Review: Machine Head - Bloodstone and Diamonds - Already Heard Staging","og_description":"Everyone loves a good face-melter. 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