CoC : Machine Head - The More Things Change... : Review

Machine Head - _The More Things Change..._
(Roadrunner, 1997)
by: Adrian Bromley (7 out of 10)

When San Francisco Bay-area thrash metal quartet Machine Head stormed into the music industry three years ago with their powerfully-charged debut disc _Burn My Eyes_ they demolished everything in sight thanks in part to an onslaught of heavy guitar riffs, thunderous wallops of intensity and singer/guitarist Robb Flynn's anger-filled lyrics. That record had everything. Fans loved them, critics loved them, they toured extensively worldwide and to many Machine Head was the musical force that helped preserve the somewhat fading metal community - and they did. Now album number two, _The More Things Change..._, finally surfaces after being plagued by studio problems (the album had to be re-recorded), extensive writing sessions and the loss of original drummer Chris Kontos. The results? A somewhat different Machine Head in my books. While the album is as intense as _Burn My Eyes_ in the screams and guitar-driven numbers department, as seen on first single "Ten Ton Hammer," "Struck A Nerve" or "Bay of Pigs," _The More Things Change..._ lacks a real pressure point, something their debut album was chock full of. Don't get me wrong, I like this record - lots - but I feel that the band wasn't able to carry the success and momentum they saw out on the road into the studio. I'm happy with the results, I just wished I had my teeth knocked out this time out rather than slapped around a few times.

(article published 16/3/1997)

ALBUMS
16/3/2007	J Smit	5	Machine Head - The Blackening
12/8/1999	J Webb	9	Machine Head - The Burning Red