MACHINE HEAD
THE BURNING RED
ALBUM ROADRUNNER RELEASE: AUGUST 9, 1999 REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 11, 1999
Every other American kid (preferably white and middle class) seem to
worship this kind of rather aggressive metal. On my side of the Atlantic
Ocean you rarely find such enthusiasm. Bands like Tool, Korn and Deftones
just don't reach the levels of popularity they do in their home
country. A quite healthy sign, if you ask me.
Within the field of this so called aggro-metal Machine Head is something of
a melting pot. Previously mentioned bands are of course obvious parallells but
you also find traces of Rage Against the Machine and old grunge geeks Pearl
Jam. Like a bunch of other American metal acts of today they've also been
inspired by Marilyn Manson (listen to "Desire to Fire" and "Five" and
you'll understand). The result is a purely American product that is as
predictable as one could expect.
Melodic moments like the single track "From This Day" and the cover of
Police's "Message in a Bottle" are tolerable. But otherwise you wish they
would stop flexing their muscles and just shut up.
ERIK ALMGREN