Machine Head – Unallied

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6.0

• Band:
  Machine Head
• Duration: 00:41:02
• Available from: 25/04/2025
• Label:

• Nuclear blast

It is increasingly evident that the Machine Heads are subject to the direct indications of the only fickle leader Robb Flynn. After the abandonment of the last historical member Adam Duce (bass) and of longtime members Phil Demmel (guitar) and Dave McClain (drums), the architects of the 'post-“resurrection'” Superchorger “, there is practically only the Jared Maceachern tyrapies to follow the supreme leader since 2013. Also the guitarist Wacław” Vogg “Kiełyka (2019–2023) He preferred to abandon the ship to continue full time with the decapitalized, giving way to a Reece Scruggs (Havok) who seems to be yet another mercenary with freedom and extremely limited contributions.
The absence of democracy is the minor of the problems for supporters: the tyrannical Flynn has in fact made itself easy target over the years, thanks to numerous strongly progressive statements by many considered opportunistic, to shoot against the same fans who contested the stylistic turns, then arriving at real contradictions, how to declare that the MH would never have ever played in the festivals, A little everywhere, or even threaten to remove the cornerstone “Davidian” from his setlist because he praises violence, only to put his whiskey on the market by calling him precisely “Shotgun Blast” … in a beautiful bottle in the shape of a rifle.
The eleventh studio album “Unitoned” is configured as the umpteenth example of an artistic unpredictability of the singer and guitarist of Oakland: the previous “of Kingdom and Crown” was the phantom 'blow to the barrel' after the divisive and fashionable “catharsis”, a record that restored the most extreme, progressive and proper formula that has made the “Through the ashes of empires”. The cover of “Unitoned”, again edited by Spiros Antonio of the Septicflesh, together with the infantile stylistic choice of capital titles and with the “or” bar “, seemed to aim for a continuation without too many deviations, instead the content is without a shadow of doubt in another direction.
Starting from the unusual synthesis that distinguishes the minutage of the songs (on average below four minutes) and the dry tracklist (ten songs plus an intro and an interlude), it is clear that the “unallied” approach is very different from all the MH discography, revealing itself characterized by a very deconstructed and frills writing, far from the long and articulated compositions of “The Blackening”, Hardcore and hip hop influences. Strangely, in contrast with the physiological decline of Robb Flynn's performances in recent years, “Unalloned” is a record that focuses a lot on the vocal melodies, strong of the Backing of Maceachern and the new entry Reece Scruggs. A sort of evolution similar to in flames of “A Sense of Purpose”, “Sounds …” and “Battles”, assisted by the former Bring Me The Horizon Jordan Fish in the control room (for years collaborator highly appreciated by Flynn, who joins Zack Ohren), a crystalline and modern production bearer, orchestral touches and multiple layers of harmonious. Very accessible vowels. With these premises, the disc could work exclusively with large levels of inspiration, however, unfortunately, this is not the case, perhaps also for the writing that occurred in a fragmented way, which took place between one tour and another.
There are few exciting moments: “These Scars Won't Define Us” is a beautiful MH style ride, with a very aggressive verse and a successful and engaging melodic refrain, which sees the participation of Anders Fridén (in Flames), Trevor Phipps (Unearth), Cristina Scabbia and Andrea Ferro (Glacuna Coil). “Bleeding Me Dry” is another effective, long and structured piece as the band can do. Finally, “Scorn” closes with the intensity and climax of historical pieces such as “The Burning Red” and “Darkness Within”. The rest suffers undoubtedly of structural deficiencies, such as the recycling of ideas, which goes from the substantial similarity of the riffs to the mechanical use of the Pinch Armonics, a flat and predictable writing that does not become unsustainable only for the brevity of the disc, in addition to a certain vocal decline of Flynn, who in many aggressive parts is particularly Rauco, with signs of usury. Unfortunately, the band cannot even exploit the Fish playbook, whose orchestral crescendo seem not to integrate in an organic way with the group's style.
Although not entirely terrible, the compositions often go into bad way, as happens to “Atomic Revelation” and “Unbound” in the refrain; Sometimes they contain childhood and unbearable elements, such as the “outsider” clap and the “Bonescraper” singalong; Often they are simply written with the automatic pilot, such as “Addicted to Pain” and “Shard of Shattered Dreams”.
We are not faced with a total mess, because “unallied” relates to a certain vision from start to finish; Furthermore, it does not contain particular compositional thuds or unheard songs, but it is written with swinging inspiration and a good dose of profession.
It is lawful and dutiful to underline the distance of such a disc from the group masterpieces, realizing how a chapter of this reach can cling only to a realistic and disappointing sufficiency. We do not know if the last fireworks laid down the Machine Head were those of the thirtieth anniversary of “Burn My Eyes” – and we certainly do not exclude further tail strokes, recorded by speaking – but there is no doubt that the compositional peaks of this “unitoned” could have constituted, at most, only a good ep.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yayuqh-n0