Since I started following Machine Head, some 22 years ago, the one thing that has kept me returning has been the band’s integrity. Whether you love or hate Rob Flynn, he has always spoken his mind (sometimes to his detriment, to be sure), and whilst I have not always found myself agreeing with him, I’ve never had cause to doubt the sincerity behind his actions or his music. That attitude, of “be me or be damned” that is invested in everything Machine Head does is very much to the fore on ‘Catharsis’ and, whilst the album will not necessarily win over those who simply want ‘the blackening’ regurgitated at every turn, it is a record that repays the diligent listener with numerous twists and turns over the course of its whopping fifteen tracks.
An album that deviates firmly from the path the band have trod on the last four albums, ‘Catharsis’ is a varied piece of work which, despite its length, rarely pales thanks to the interesting detours the band make along the way. The first thing that strikes home with ‘Catharsis’ are the melodies that the band have woven into every fibre of the record. Even at its heaviest (and there is plenty of full-blooded metal action on display here), ‘Catharsis’ works hard to worm itself into your subconscious, where it will lodge for days given half a chance. Such wilful melodicism is likely to alienate as many as it inspires, as will the acoustic numbers that are dotted across the album, but it’s wonderful to hear the band taking risks again when a safer tactic would surely be to craft a sequel to ‘bloodstones and diamonds’ and leave it at that. In short, ‘Catharsis’ is not the album that many expected from Machine Head at this stage in their career, but it is, perhaps, the album had to make in order to remain relevant in their own minds, and that sense of artistic belligerence is surely to be admired.
Putting the album in the player for the first time, you’d be forgiven for thinking nothing had changed. The tough-as nails riff of ‘Volatile’ is classic Machine Head and yet, despite the implied brutality, the song sideswipes the listener with a chorus of such melodic potency that you’ll be singing it in the shower for days. Arguably one of the most Machine Head-esque tracks on the album, at least until ‘razorblade smile’, ‘Volatile’ has melody and menace (not least thanks to the strongly political lyrics) in equal measure, getting the record off to an impressive start. It is with the second track that the band start to raze expectations. The hazy, cinematic intro to ‘Catharsis’ is not at all what you would expect to follow on from the foaming-at-the-mouth fury of ‘Volatile’, and it is here that you start to realise that this record is going to be far from an easy, predictable ride. A track that confidently sweeps aside the idea that Machine Head are simply content to dish out more of the same, it’s easy to see why it was chosen to be the album’s title track such is the strength of its emotional core. It’s still heavy, but with a strong melodic identity that emerges in the taut dynamic shifts the band execute over the song’s runtime. At over six-minutes in length it is a track that reserves its power, waiting until the final minute to deliver its most potent blow. A track with which many will be familiar, ‘Beyond the pale’ swaggers into view next. To put to the elephant in the room to bed, yes, the track most certainly does have a strong SYL vibe with the riff veering perilously close to ‘love’. However, that’s not to say the song is a Devin clone and, whilst Robb was gracious enough to acknowledge the unintentional debt, the band spin it comfortably into a direction that is very much their own, the chorus edging back to ‘Supercharger’ territory. Packing a monstrous groove that sits somewhere between Slipknot, Amen and ‘Burning Red’-era Machine Head, ‘California Bleeding’ is a gigantic, stadium-sized anthem that recalls ‘the blood, the sweat, the tears’ with Robb’s rhythmic vocal delivery on the verse giving way to a surprisingly addictive chorus. A track that is liable to divide opinion, ‘Triple beam’ (an album highlight for me) has a tough, hip hop vibe that offsets its huge, grinding riff perfectly. It has to be remembered that hip hop has always held a strong sway over Robb and his cohorts, and it comes naturally here, edging the band into territory not dissimilar to that explored by King 810 on their last album. Wasting not a breath, ‘Kaleidoscope’ is a ferocious, stream-of-consciousness rant with a hook-driven chorus that seems to define the track, only for the band to up the ante, unleashing coruscating riffs, obtuse synth lines and even layers of strings to dizzying, enthralling effect. Yes, it’s different; even radically so; but that doesn’t mean that the underlying passion has gone, it’s simply taken a different form on this album, as evidenced by the album’s bravest moment. A song that truly belies any cack-handed accusations of nu-metal recidivism, the acoustic-driven protest song ‘bastards’ sounds like Bob Dylan and The Transplants having a knife fight with the Dropkick Murphys. It’s a bewildering, punky, socially-aware track that sees the band reach the mid-point of the album with their middle fingers aloft as they burn all the preconceptions that surround them on the gigantic fire of their myriad influences. In all honesty, I can understand why some Machine Head fans will not like this track, but for me, it’s an example of the band pushing against the perceived boundaries of genre in order to offer up something that will, if nothing else, encourage debate with its inflammatory language and message of inclusivity. It’s easy to imagine that some will be offended by Robb’s conscious use of pejorative phrases, but if history has proven anything, it is that the language of hatred can be reclaimed by those who invert its use, and there’s no doubt as to the intention of ‘bastards’ in this regard. To my mind, it’s certainly better to engage with such language and bring it into the light than simply pretend it doesn’t exist – inaction has never solved anything.
Kicking back into more familiar territory, the chrome-plated groove of ‘hope begets hope’ sounds all the heavier for its predecessor, but it is not long before the band throw a curve ball, introducing hypnotic, phased guitar and clean vocals that stand in strangely psychedelic contrast to the crushing chorus. Crushingly heavy, the central riff of ‘Screaming at the sun’ grinds away beneath Robb’s bile-drenched vocal delivery. In contrast, ‘behind a mask’ recalls the emotionally draining beauty of Slipknot’s ‘snuff’ with its picked acoustic intro and naked vocal. It’s a track that will really set the critical cat among the pigeons, as it draws from the likes of Queensryche (think the acoustic version of ‘bridge’) and even katatonia with its rich harmonies and sumptuous production, and it’s another brave departure for the band. Of course, this being Machine Head, any momentary calm is only the prelude to a storm, and so whilst ‘heavy lies the crown’ takes it’s time to emerge from plucked strings and whispered vocals, when it finally does, it packs a powerful, if theatrical, punch. Aptly titled, ‘psychotic’ has a fittingly brutal riff, whilst ‘grind you down’ is as vicious a track as anythgin Machine Head have put their names to in recent years. By far the most typically Machine head-esque track on the album, ‘razorblade smile’ is a fine track that sees the album racing towards its conclusion but, in all honesty, it pales in comparison to the monstrous ebb and flow of ‘Eulogy’, a track that sees the listener journey from a poignant, acoustic intro, through bile-driven sludge, to emerge, filled with hope, on the other side. It is a powerful coda to the album and a fitting end to Machine head’s most varied (and controversial) album to date.
I suspect that a lot of people are going to hate this album, after all, music is an entirely subjective thing. My worry, however, is that a number of people will hate this album either because they’re unwilling to give it the necessary time or because they are unwilling to go against the perceived flow of public opinion. What stands out, however, is that Machine head have, once again, proved brave enough to push beyond the limitations of genre, incorporating a dizzying array of influences into an album that time and again challenges the listener’s expectations. If that’s not what you’re looking for, I can understand that, but, with time, I believe ‘Catharsis’ will come to be seen as a bold move from a band who have proven themselves singularly unwilling to be bound by convention. It is an album that genuinely reflects the hopes and fears of its creators in an age where too many artists are content to indulge in artifice in order to maintain a fanbase and it makes for a hell of a ride. Leave your preconceptions at the door and give ‘Catharsis’ a chance, you may be surprised at what lies within. 8
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