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Machine Head: The Burning Red Mallcore/Nu-Metal, Rapcore Roadrunner Records August 10th, 1999
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Review
"What in the name of Hell is this?!" is perhaps the only thought that will pounding into your head once you start up The Burning Red by Machine Head. The anxiously awaited follow-up third album by this band shows them not evolving, but rather regressing and expanding on some of the problems from the previous album The More Things Change... and falling prey to the then rap-metal scene. Yes, you read right, there is rap involved on this album, but, really, should it hold this album back? To be honest the rapping is perhaps one of the better things on this release. The introduction track "Enter The Phoenix" is basically just a wasted track that leads into "Desire To Fire" which is filled with rap and music that ranges from intense to rather lame, such as during the really slow aspects that randomly appear throughout this and other tracks on the album. The vocals have definitely matured since the last album, having more aggression behind them, which is great since that is what really destroyed the last album. But with every pro seems to come a con, as Robb Flynn not only decided to rap on this album, but also sing clean, mostly during the chorus, and it sounds horrible thanks to either him being tone def, the crappy distortion that seems to have been used, or even both, with exception being made to "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears" where it actually sounds good for the one line he sings. The thing that really hurts this album is that the music has also gone a bit backward. While the songs do still sound pretty damn heavy, much of it is generic or utter crap. "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears" has disco-sounding moments, and many of the other tracks on here sound like your typical rap fused metal riffs and drum beats. Aside that, the band has discovered a lighter side, which is blatently obvious on the radio fiendly "Silver", which features more poor singing and a harsher chorus. But, the sad thing is that it's the heavier rap influenced tracks on this release that actually sound good and wind up saving the album from being an absolute disaster, mostly because the chorus music to the chorus on each one is actually really catchy and sung well with a harsher vocal style. The only track on here that is at all reminiscent of the band's style from either of their previous releases would be "Devil With The King's Card", but that just drones on like a failed Doom Metal song, sadly. Gone are the days of complex, groove laden riffs and intense drumming. Welcome to the new age of Machine Head, a stereotypical rap metal, nu-metal act chock full of mainstream oriented songs, and a few tracks that push the envelope. The sad thing is, much of this album is better then their last effort, primarily in the vocals department, but it's songs like "Silver", their cover of "Message In A Bottle", and the insane bland guitar chords that really drag this album down. Unless you're a die hard fan, this release really isn't worth it, as the only decent songs on The Burning Red are "Desire To Fire", "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears" and "From This Day", and even they have issues musically.
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