MACHINE HEAD — Burn My Eyes (review)

MACHINE HEAD — Burn My Eyes album cover Album · 1994 · Groove Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
martindavey87
The early 90's was an odd time for metal. With most of the previous decades heroes being driven underground, going through a phase of substandard releases, or shamelessly trying (and failing) to latch onto the grunge scene that was taking the world by storm, heavy metal needed some fresh new faces to take the reins and steer the genre to pastures new.

With groove metal bands like Pantera standing tall, hardcore heroes like Biohazard bludgeoning their way into the action, and later bands such as Korn and Limp Bizkit taking the music in totally different directions, there was one band that fused elements of all these subgenres together, and so with the immortal lyric of "let freedom ring with a shotgun blast" did Machine Head burst onto the scene.

With some very fat, grooving riffs, plenty of middle-finger attitude and hard-hitting lyrics, Machine Head exemplified metal in the early 90's, when fans were care-free and passionate, ravenous for the next headbanging anthem. And there's plenty of 'em here! 'Old', 'The Rage to Overcome' and 'Davidian' (one on the bands best songs), are all reasons why Machine Head would be one of the bands to usher heavy metal into the post-grunge era of modern music.

The album does plod along at times and comes across as repetitive, which is why it only gets a three-star rating from me. Robert Flynn's vocals suit the music perfectly, although the overuse of harmonics (and in particular, stabs in the music with harmonics filling the gap) does become a tired trick after hearing it in the third or fourth song. But overall this is a solid debut, and 'Davidian' is easily one of the finest metal songs to come out of the 90's, so it's a damn good album just for that.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
Vim Fuego wrote:
more than 2 years ago
This album was a real revelation when it came out. It got called all sorts, and it upset a lot of old school fans because it was heavy, but also melodic, and newbies loved it too. An excellent entry level album to point you toward heavier things. Still Machine Head's best in my eyes, despite the hyperbole surrounding some of their later albums.

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Caedes Animarum Deathcore
INVISIBLE SPHERE
Buy this album from MMA partners
Empty Doom Metal
BONGRIPPER
Buy this album from MMA partners
Shadowflame Deathcore
BREATH OF SINDRAGOSA
Buy this album from MMA partners
Iniquitous Deathcore
SINISTER SECTOR
Buy this album from MMA partners
Untoward Perpetuity Deathcore
AND HELL FOLLOWED WITH
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

Agremorta - Adrocitas (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Ploratus Umbra (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
Agremorta - Vertex Membrana (Official Lyric Video)
AGREMORTA
Bosh66· 2 days ago
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR - The Temple Of Curved Space (Official Track Stream)
HAIL SPIRIT NOIR
adg211288· 2 days ago
In Sulfur - The Gate (OFFICIAL VIDEO) 2022
IN SULFUR
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed