Machine Head – It all falls apart (Brixton Academy 18/2/10)

Man Must Die, Bleeding Through, Hatebreed, MACHINE HEAD – Brixton Academy Thursday 18th February 2010

Machine Head – It all falls apart.

Let’s get one thing straight from the start... I LOVE Machine Head. Ok, Metallica got me into metal, Machine Head kept me in metal. I bought Burn my eyes when it was released. I watched a documentary on Dave’s audition with Machine Head about 2 million times and then bought my first drum kit shortly after. I queued up at mid day to see Machine Head’s first show with Dave in London, and got to chat to Dave for a while, along with the rest of the band. I’ve seen every headlining show Machine Head have played in London (Yes, I WAS at Hellalive and Elegies). I’ve defended Dave McClain when people said Joey Jordison was better. I absolutely loved their hip hop “We bring chaos to blocks like, riots to watts blow up spots, taking the crown off the top notch...” I met Logan at a signing before he took the stage with Soulfly and admired him all night. I met Phil and he signed my hoodie at his first London shows. I love ‘The Dagger’. I’ve seen Dave drop sticks, PA’s blow up, line up changes destroy and rebuild the band, watched documentaries about their tour diaries. I’ve even taken my ‘I love Britney Spears and Panic at the Disco’ wife to the Metal Hammer awards to see Lamb of God and Machine Head, and converted her to loyal member of the MH family... “wow look at Dave, he’s all over the place”, and “Rob is a REAL man” she would say. I LOVE MACHINE HEAD.

So now that you know that I am a die hard Machine Head fan I hope you will read my review as it is meant to be read... genuine, and from the bottom of my heart.

It was really strange to turn up to a gig just 2 hours before doors open to find the queue empty. When I queued up for Metallica at Earls Court in 1996 there were 12,000 screaming fans at mid day, very different to the 50 or so that were stupidly stood freezing in the rain. Maybe I should have just gone to the pub like everyone else, stayed dry and met Phil and Rob for a drink. We did see Phil walk past, but no one really cared. I was the only one to shout “PHIL” and get a \m/ response from him as he walked past the bemused crowd “what that REALLY Phil?!?”. We confirmed it actually WAS Phil when he walked back about an hour later and got mobbed. Anyone queuing outside a few hours before would have had a great laugh and sing along to the old drunk dude staggering up and down the queue. It was also hilarious when one guy shouted “PLAY SOME SLAYER”.

Me and my loyal wife made our way up to the balcony of the Brixton Academy and took off our drenched hoodies, started on our drinks and watched Man Must Die warm up the crowd. It might be a strange thing to say but I was pleased their sound was so aweful... good old Machine Head screwing over the support bands sound check to make sure theirs is awesome again. Yeah Man Must Die were heavy, but it was a wall of noise from a band i’d never heard of. If I was in the pit it would have been more fun, if they’d created a pit in the first place there would have been something to watch, but from the balcony I just wanted to warm up, and spent the time chatting to my wife about how excited I was to see Machine Head yet again.

Bleeding Through got a massive reception. They were dam heavy and everyone seemed to know who they were. Sounding not dissimilar to Man Must Die apart from their better sound quality, they at least managed to get some crowd participation during their set.

Hatebreed were defiantly a fan favourite of the night. Everyone there was singing the words, pits and moshes all over the place and the energy on stage was immense. “We are from Orange County California and we bring Heavy Metal and Hard Core”. Their set was flawless, their sound on stage was not only clear, but brutally heavy, and at the same time catchy as hell. The highlight of their set tonight was ‘In Ashes They Shall Reap’ – Guitarists doom vocal “Booooorn” and singers “to bleed, fighting to succeed” chant filled the arena. They announced a headline tour for October and I have a feeling most of the people in the pit tonight will be back to see them.

All night the arena has been filled with the mighty “Machine Fucking Head” chant. The energy and anticipation of seeing MH was electric and I’ve not seen a crowd as excited to see Machine Head as this for a long time.

So, let’s get on to Machine Head. Lights go off, some music plays over the PA (not the usual Omen this time), then the curtains drop and the intro to Clenching The Fists of Decent is played over the PA. Then, in typical MH style, light up, Rob and Phil next to each other thrashing away and “GOOOOOOOOO” as they explode into a thrasterpiece of metal onslaught from one of today’s heaviest and finest bands playing their opener to their Grammy nominated album of the decade ‘The Blackening’. Machine Head are back and they’re on fire. Dave in his typical arms flaying all over the thing that barely passes for a drum kit, Adam pacing the stage like a monster, Phil looking like he’s having the time of his life, and Rob, like a general leading his troops into battle with a power of raw vocals, a guitar that makes your ears bleed and enough energy to take on world war 3 single handed. They deserve every single “Machine Fucking Head” chant tonight, every single one.

But that’s where I want to leave the review. A MH chant, an opening blistering song, 4 guys on stage proving metal is alive and well, and one of the most electric openers to a gig. Not only do I want to leave the review there, I want to leave the arena there. From then on my heart sinks. Yes, if you’re in the pit, yes if you’ve never seen Machine Head before, and yes, if you like your ears to bleed, by all means you probably thought that was the most amazing gig ever. But as I look over at my wife, who was converted to loving Machine Head at the Metal Hammer Awards and knows every word to Aesthetics, she looks up at me and says “this hurts”. And that says it all for me. As MH plow through their 2nd song Imperium, I get very confused as to what the hell Dave McClain is playing. I can’t pick out what part of the song he is playing over the feedback of the guitars. From the balcony all we are getting is guitar squeal and the noise of a harrier jump jet taking off... and metal isn’t meant to sound like that, or hurt like that. Dave drops his sticks during the first verse of Imperium. I love Dave McClain, he is the best drummer in the world. I am a groupie, I told him so in 1996. His style of flat toms, ambidextrous technique, blast off beets, crazy fills and unbelievable power are missed by most people that say “Larz, Jordison and Lombardo are the best”. No they’re not, they suck lemons compared to Dave. But having been fixated by Dave for the past 15 years I am saddened to say he looks tired and bored and not his usual self, reflected in the stick dropping incident. I actually saw him drop his sticks during a gig in London in about 97 but I didn’t care because he was completely on fire then. Tonight though, it seemed to be a reflection on his tiredness. There are the usual throw the sticks off stage catch them continue playing mind boggling magic from him but its heads down, play a show, get it over with, and that’s not the Dave I know and love. And the attitude continues with Phil, who on a number of occasions walked off stage, took his guitar off (leaving only half a harrier engine flying over us), drank a bit of water and walked around for a minute. If it wasn’t for Rob continuing to shout at us I may have done what someone else tweeted 20 minutes into their set “-10 metal points for leaving a machinehead gig early. Seriously though - cranked too loud and just boring really”

All this is just my opinion. I love them and will continue to love them. Maybe you thought it was an amazing gig, I just didn’t and from the balcony the sound sucked and they looked bored and tired. After ‘All Falls Down’ Rob admitted he was pleased they’d made it through that song as back stage that song was more ‘All Falls Apart’ which ironically for me sums up their performance. That saying, Rob was definitely having the time of his life. He was stoked as hell to be playing London again and was loving the energy from the crowd. He was presented with a sliver disk for The Blackening going, well, silver, and kindly gave it to a fan in the front row. Respect Rob, respect.

It wasn’t all bad. Their set list was one of the finest I’d ever heard, because they played a bunch of song’s I’d never heard, London had never heard and really Machine Head hadn’t played live before. Exhale the Vile, Bite the Bullet, Beautiful Mourning, All Falls Down, all crushing as hell. Take My Scars, Old and Ten Ton Hammer, heavy and bouncy as hell. Bulldozer, as heavy as it sounds. Just a dam shame their sound was so terrible you couldn’t understand it. The highlight for my wife was of cause their mighty Aesthetics, but even she couldn’t sing along. Try sticking your head in a washing machine and singing “Burn in hell”, it’s not as easy as it sounds and not half as fun.

All in all, a sad night for me. Let’s hope they get some well earned rest, they have been touring for 2 years behind this effort, get into that studio and release a crushing album, a crushing headline tour (where they play London FIRST not last where they’re too tired to care) and remember to drip feed Dave some red bull back stage before his next show.
Set List.

Clenching the Fists of Decent
Imperium
Take my Scars
Bite the Bullet
Ten Ton Hammer
Now I Lay Thee Down
Beautiful Mourning
All Falls Down
Aesthetics of Hate
Old
Burning Red
Exhale The Vile
Bulldozer
Block
---
Halo
Davidian