Unatøned

The intervening years since 2018’s ill-conceived “Catharsis” have been kinder to MACHINE HEAD. Some of that is owed to the anniversary shows celebrating their classic “Burn My Eyes” debut; a little bit also goes to 2022’s “Of Kingdom and Crown”, which was a largely well-conceived offering that found Robb Flynn and crew rolling out, for the first time, a concept album. With all of that seemingly out of their system, the band’s new “Unatøned” long player finds MACHINE HEAD, perhaps wisely sticking to what they do best.

MACHINE HEAD‘s bread and butter has been the groove and its various manifestations. When album opener “Atomic Revelations” and the even better “Unbound” get moving, it’s easy to remember why the band was so enticing in the first place — they can carry out some sublimely crushing riffs, especially on “Unbound”, where a divebomb/chug combo (starting at 0:21) ranks among the best in a career loaded with magnificent riffs. It’s the type of riff (and song) that is the best of MACHINE HEAD rolled into one: Flynn has his aggro/clean vocals going, mixed in with a fiery guitar solo.

“Unatøned” threatens to go sideways when the band begins dipping back into the nu-metal pool. The “bounce” riffs on “Outsider” are, luckily, saved by a soaring chorus, yet the same can’t be said “Bonescraper”, which, even with the band’s trademark harmonics in tow, is a pseudo-industrial letdown. While pre-requisite thrasher “These Scars Won’t Define Us” gets the job done, “Addicted To Pain” is a sub-SLIPKNOT jaunt that doesn’t do much.

Back to Flynn on vocals: He’s emerged as a better singer than people give him credit for, as evidenced by “Not Long for This World”, which finds him crooning over a series of melodic riffs that strikes the right balance. The same applies to “Bleeding Me Dry” and “Scorn”, two cuts that further modernize MACHINE HEAD in a way that could be a sign of things to come if the band’s history is any indication.

“Unatøned” can probably be tucked between “Unto the Locust” and “Bloodstone & Diamonds” in terms of strength in the MACHINE HEAD discography. There are no sudden twists or turns here. The album wisely plays off the band’s strengths, while indicating greatness may still be coming around the corner again, or another “Catharsis” may be afoot.