 | |
List Price: $27.98 | | Label: Roadrunner Japan/Zoom
Salesrank:
Released: June 23, 2009 |
| Our Price: $27.98 |
|
|
| Media: Audio CD |
|
The Blackening Track Listing:
1. Clenching the Fists of Dissent
2. Beautiful Mourning
3. Aesthetics of Hate
4. Now I Lay Thee Down
5. Slanderous
6. Halo
7. Wolves
8. Farewell to Arms
Editorial Review:
Bay Area metal masters Machine Head are back with The Blackening, a glorious follow up to the critically acclaimed Through The Ashes of Empires. An evolutionary album, The Blackening features Machine Head staying true to their roots with some of the heaviest riffs ever recorded while incorporating many beautiful, melodic choruses. Produced by Robert Flynn (Machine Head vocalist/guitarist) and mixed by Colin Richardson (Fear Factory, Cradle of Filth, Bullet for My Valentine), The Blackening marks Machine Head's strong return to the forefront of the metal world. A heavy, technical album that, while rooted in 90s metal, pushes the boundaries of hard music well into the future with songs like "Aesthetics of Hate," "Halo," "Now I Lay Thee Down," "Beautiful Mourning" and more. Machine Head are Robert Flynn (vocals/guitar), Phil Demmel (lead guitar), Adam Duce (bass/harmony vocals), Dave McClain (drums)
The Blackening Reviews:
One of my favorite metal albums ever... 
2009-08-27 - To me this is one of the best metal albums ever. If you want quick and simple songs with a nice hook, go somewhere else though. If you want intricate and LONG complex metal, this is the album for you. The Blackening and Burn My Eyes are both albums I can listen to over and over again, much like the first 5 Metallica albums, Animosity by Sevendust, and Lights...Camera...Revolution! by Suicidal Tendencies.
This stuff is bad in every way-- really horrible 
2009-06-18 - Wow, all these 5 stars reviews what is everyone listening to? This album reeks of nu-metal mallcore boring lame overblown b.s. from beginning to end. The lyrics are plainly embarrassing to listen to, not one shred of brain cell does Rob Flynn have. Im sorry I need not explain much more, this band and this album are whats ruining metal. Dont believe the 5 stars reviews, this band does not deserve your money or time. And they are simply horrible live, they should be put in jail for what they did to Maiden's Hallowed be Thy Name. Machine Head- the band with no identity, the trend hoppers, the posers, and most of all the talentless drug addicts. Stop the Madness.
American Metal Can still Reign Supreme
2009-04-15 - Ever since the Gothenburg scene began just before the 21st century, I have had a hard time finding heavy, riveting, melody-strewn American metal that lived up to my new expectations--with the exception of a couple bands (Nevermore, Killswitch Engage). But when I came across this album, and listened to the tracks, a wonderful smile came upon my face. With the Gothenburg babies (In Flames, Soilwork) fading into more commercial mush these days, it was refreshing to find a band that stayed true to their roots in their latter work--unafraid to keep the solos long and brutality harsh. And even among the heaviness I love, Machine Head perfectly laced their tracks with melody, causing their haunting choruses to become drugs.
This album is worth every penny in the headbanger's pocket. Do not think twice.
The songs most notable to me are Beautiful Mourning, Now I Lay Thee Down, and Halo.
My only disappointment in this album was the onslaught of profanity; too much is never a good thing. Profanity, for me, does not equal artistry.
Sharkchild
Author of The Dark Verse, Volume I: From the Passages of Revenants (Imitation Leather)
A "definite" metal classic?
2008-12-12 - Yes, we've heard all the hype before. But once in a while, an album comes along and just grabs you by the throat and will not let go until you finally pick up a copy. Then that copy becaome part of the rotation in your music libary, never being put away.
This CD happens to be one of them.
Now before I get into the review, I am a Machine Head fan, and I do have all of their albums, from the well done "Burn My Eyes" to the awful "Supercharger". I am pretty biased about their music, so no matter how bad (Or how good) an album they make, I'm gonna listen to it and make my own judgement.
But this CD brought me back to why I love their music in the first place.
Right from the opening track "Clenching The Fists Of Dissent", This CD sucked me in a roller coaster of brutal, loud, yet well written and melodic sound, drawing out an emotion from me that hard to describe. The closest I can describe is like going to your favorite band's concert for the first time.
I got sucked in by tracks like "Beautiful Morning", "Aesthetics Of Hate", "Slanderous", even "Now I lay Thee Down" and I'm not too big on songs similar to that track. I found myself moshing at my job while listening to the entire album.
The mixing is perfectly done, Rob Flynn really shines in this CD, but it's just not him. Phil Demmel, Adam Duce, and Dave McClain also throw their weight into the songs, blending together as a whole, but yet standing out individually. You don't hear that very often. The last time I heard that was on Slayer's "Reign In Blood", Pantera's "Vulgar Display Of Power", and the late Chuck Schuldiner's band "Control Denied".
Granted, the album is rather long, but so was Metallica's "And Justice For All". A couple of the tracks are over 10 minutes long, and the Album itself is about or a little over 65 minutes long, making it seem like an "Epic" type of album.
You get an idea of what each track is about by listening yourself, especially "A Farewell To Arms", and the forementioned tracks, "Aestheics Of Hate", "Slanderous", and of course a personal favorite, "Wolves".
Very few Metal Albums deserve the praise it gets, this deserves more. You know this is something good when it beats out a few Post-Hardcore bands for "Album of the year" on Metal Hammer magazine.
Recently, Machine re-released The blackening with two bonus tracks "Battery" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name", a couple of covers from Metallica and Iron Maiden. Nice choices if you ask me. Those two covers alone make this CD much more enjoyable.
But this CD itself is worth buying. I highly recommend it.
Instant Metal Classic
2008-11-19 - The Blackening is the album the metal community has been begging for. Always been a big MH fan, but this is by and far their masterpiece. I do recommend the special edition with the two cover tracks and DVD. Well worth the extra coin. Any metal fan should not be without this CD in their collection. MH fan or not, this could be the most important metal album of this generation. Yeah..........it's that good. I raise my glass and "clinched fist of dissent" to Machine Head!!!!!
