IN REVIEW: Machine Head - "Catharsis"

Try as they did to keep their streak of great records going when they signed to Nuclear Blast prior to the release of 2014's Bloodstone & Diamonds, that seventh record had its fair share of problematic content. To start, there was too much of it; after establishing themselves with a trio of universally acclaimed, conceptually concise albums, Bloodstone & Diamonds was their longest album by a full ten minutes over its closest competition and saw a more scattered sonic approach that made for an uneven and exhaustive listen. Also, Rob Flynn's lyrics seemed to be getting a little more trite and, in some cases, riddled with clichés. The end result was no mere step down but, in some circles at least, a violent fall down the stairs for one of metal's highest profile bands.

Of course, it's not like this is the first time a revered and popular metal band has had a misstep. Megadeth had Risk, Metallica had St. Anger; hell, even trusty Slayer rubbed fans the wrong way with Diabolus in Musica, their passing fling with nu-metal. For that matter, Machine Head already lived through the same fickle fits from their fans when they invited nu-metal into their sound back in 1999. All of these bands emerged relatively unscathed, and went on to release better records, so Machine Head could easily come back from a few filler tracks and some dumb lyrics.

The thing is, for all the lessons that could have been learned, Catharsis takes every misgiving fans had about the previous record and pushes it even further. It's almost like Machine Head are willingly provoking their fans, some of the offences are so egregious. Here's what might as well be the sales pitch:

The last record was too long and had too many songs? How about we go three minutes longer than last time and bump the tracklist up to 15? Didn't like the scattershot music? We're taking musical cues from Sepultura, Pantera, Motorhead, Dropkick Murphys and Korn. That's right, Korn! Except just the Korn song that has Fred Durst guest rapping, because that's our gangsta rap nu-metal song I'm talking about when I say Korn. "Wait a minute!" I hear you say, "A gangsta rap nu-metal song from one of metal's most revered bands? In 2018?" Yep! About those dumber, more clichéd lyrics? Here's a series of quotes from throughout the album: "Fuck the world!" "No money? Well, she could always pay with sex." "I'm getting head by the Fresno sign." "Get your middle fingers in the air!" "Stand your ground (on FOUR different songs, with one slight variation)." "You can read me like a book." "I'm at the end of my rope." "I got a boner for miles, I'm slinging loads for fun."

I haven't even mentioned the ill-conceived attempts at politics at play here. Razorblade Smile, the song I pulled the "boner for miles" line from, clumsily works in an anti-Trump dig in its second verse. Rather than a well-thought out, provocative statement, however, what we get is, ahem: "Trump's in bed with North Korea, and that just might be gay." For actual, Rob Flynn? You can't think of anything intelligent to take Trump down on, so you use a homophobic slur? Don't even get me started on Bastards, which uses a message of inclusion as an excuse for a white guy to say the N-word and use derogatory terms for gays and Spanish-speaking people (sung to his sons, no less).

The saddest part is, there's a decent album hiding under all of this lowest common denominator embarrassment. The title track is suitably epic and heavy, as is Heavy Lies the Crown (the latter proof that Machine Head are still plenty capable of crafting absolutely massive tunes. A few of the quieter moments act as welcome reprieves, and give the album at least a small amount of respite from the grind. Beyond the Pale, as close to familiar songs as it is, truly rips and grooves like not much else on the record. Musically, a handful of these songs are even able to rise above their ham-fisted lyrics. Indeed, there's a nine-song 8-rating somewhere among the tripe. However, that leaves six songs of sub-par material and/or dumbed down, chest-thumping embarrassment, and sifting through the garbage for the goodness is going to be too much work for too little reward to too many fans. On Bastards, Rob Flynn uses regrettable language to promote inclusiveness and togetherness; the irony is, Catharsis does more to divide their fan base than any Machine Head album that's come before.

January 26, 2018 • Nuclear Blast
Highlights Beyond the Pale • Hope Begets Hope • Heavy Lies the Crown