Saturday 31 December 2011

Machine Head - Unto The Locust [2011]


Before the year comes to an end and the combat boots are changed to dancing shoes, I shall sing yet another hymn to you. A song about the album that shook my world in December and keeps me thrilled till tonight.
I can't say how come I listened to Unto The Locust, since I never liked thrash metal much. Maybe it was fate, maybe it's because I kept coming across it everywhere in Internet? But since I don't fancy philosophical speeches, let's allow music to speak.

I Am Hell (Sonata in C#) opens in a ceremonial, old-church-fashioned way almost like in Septic Flesh. But there's a hell in the title and it soon becomes touchable as the guitars and drums ride a devilish gallop, hurried by growls.
I am hell to thee
Down here all shall suffer with me

Well said, all will suffer from neckaches after that much headbanging.

The guitar introduction of Be Still And Know keeps the fire of sacral atmosphere. Further though they slightly distort, float with choired vocals and fly in bridges. What a power! What a melody! In the heaviness of this tale there is a lot of energizing optimism.

Locust was chose a promo single and I admit it was a damn right decision. It has absolutely everything that good metal song needs – fast solos, catchy chorus, good lyrics, amazing melody all song long and even an emotional bridge (some more famous metal bands would make a 5-minutes ballad out of it:P) Ay, que rico!

The beginning of This Is The End makes you think 'aha, now they'll slow down and get melancholic!' One awesome riff hurries another, and the dissonances in the chorus are like an ironic laughter on my first imagination of song.

Yet each metal album MUST have a song that's more melancholic than others. Darkness Within presents that point of view, changing growls for wonderful clean vocals and pressure hidden in acoustic and almost acoustic riffs. Yes, the sound explodes in chorus and following solos, but the general idea of a song is much calmer – the limited version of album contains acoustic bonus, as well as covers of The Sentinel (Judas Priest) and Witch Hunt (Rush). The strong point of Darkness are beautiful lyrics.
So pray to music build a shrine
Listen in these desperate times
Fill your heart with every note
Cherish it and cast afloat
Because god is in these clef and tone
Salvation is found alone
Haunted by its melody
Music it will set you free
Let it set you free


Pearls Before The Swine
– is it a sad reflection after a concert? For sure it's a sad, dark tune with broken rhythms, quiet distortions and loud neckbreakers.

Who We Are? Children singing, adults screaming, raging drums or guitars mixed with cellos? Recently I heard an opinion that metal is much more popular among people from smaller towns and villages, among those who are bored with their everyday's reality and lies of modern world. The part -
We are the other American dream
Whose characters fight for their lives
And they scream

-seem to perfectly summarize the better part of metalheads' world – people who are not afraid to stand up for themselves and their opinions. And there's something about this song that wakes the fire burning deep inside my heart and makes me wanna scream, yes, scream, what I really think.

What do I think now? Be courageous and keep changing the world in the damn 2012, remember:
We are the young
And young at heart
The strong and the brave that are destined to start
We are the change
The world needs to see
Look in our eyes and see our belief !

4 comments:

  1. "I never like trash metal much"
    It's THRASH, not thrash.

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  2. Of course, damn editing in hurry;S Thanks for pointing out:)

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  3. "some more famous metal bands would make a 5-minutes ballad out of it" Hahaha, great review girl :p

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  4. Guess who I meant:P and it's all your fault, I came upon I Am Hell (Sonata in C#) at your fcb and as always! Your song must get stuck in head:P

    ReplyDelete