SPIN IT BACK MACHINE HEAD: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE...

By: Philip Sayblack

For those who may not yet have heard or read the announcement, officials with Nuclear Blast Records recently announced the label will re-issue Machine Head’s 2011 album, Unto The Locust this summer.  The record is scheduled for re-issue Sept. 25 through Nuclear Blast.  This even though the record was originally released through the band’s former label home, Roadrunner Records.  The band’s seventh (and its final for Roadrunner Records) it was also the band’s best performing album to date at the time of its release.  It is just one of so many great records that the band has released over its life, including the focus of this edition of “Spin it Back,” The More Things Change…  Spanning 10 songs total, this 52-minute record is definitely another example of why Machine Head is one of the greatest metal bands out there today.  That is proven in part through its featured musical arrangements.  The lyrical content that accompanies that musical material makes for its own interest.  The record’s production rounds out its most important elements.  Each item noted plays its own important part to the whole of The More Things Change…  All things considered they make the record one of Machine Head’s honestly most underappreciated album that certainly deserves another listen.


The More Things Change… the sophomore album from Machine Head, is an underrated addition to the veteran metal outfit’s expansive catalog.  It is a presentation that deserves far more respect that it has gotten over the years.  That is proven in part through its featured musical arrangements.  The arrangements are of note because they exhibit a clear growth from the band’s landmark debut album, Burn My Eyes, which was released less than three years prior.  Where Burn My Eyes was a clear thrash-leaning record, The More Things Change… takes more of a heavy, “grinding” approach.  The closest that this album comes to the thrash approach taken in Burn My Eyes are the full-throttle arrangement featured in ‘Struck a Nerve’ and ‘Bay of Pigs.’  By and large though, the rest of the album’s musical arrangements are heavy in their own right but more in a slower, more plodding nature.  Honestly, those familiar with the band’s catalog could even argue that to a point, the arrangements featured in this record are a hint of what would also come in the band’s next album, The Burning Red (1999).  The arrangements in whole are unique from those featured in Burn My Eyes and are still fully engaging and entertaining from beginning to end.


The lyrical content that accompanies the album’s musical arrangements makes for its own interest.  The lyrical content largely follows some overarching social and political commentaries from one to the next.  From dealing with negative personal relationships in ‘Ten Ton Hammer’ and ‘Blistering’ to bigger social matters in the likes of ‘Take My Scars,’ ‘Struck a Nerve’ and ‘Spine’ to something even harder hitting in ‘Violate’ and ‘Zodiac Killer,’ the themes featured throughout the record are heavy in their own right.  Some are quite accessible and resonant.  Others are sure to really get listeners thinking.  To that end, the overall lyrical and musical content featured within the nearly hour-long body of The More Things Change… makes for more than enough reason for audiences to take in this record.


Rounding out the most important elements of The More Things Change… is the record’s production.  It has already been noted that this record is heavy in its own right in regard to its musical arrangements.  The music hits hard and is expertly balanced with front man Robb Flynn’s vocals thanks to the production.  Producer Colin Richardson is to be applauded for his work with the band, bringing out the best in each song.  For those who may not know, prior to working with Machine Head on this record, he also produced records for the likes of Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, and Carcass.  So, to that end, he obviously knew how to handle heavy music coming into this album and it showed.  His work made this album fully immersive and in turn so engaging and entertaining.  When his work with the band is considered along with the album’s musical and lyrical content, the whole therein makes The More Things Change… a presentation that really deserves so much more respect than it has received over the years in the bigger picture of Machine Head’s catalog.
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The More Things Change… is available now.  More information on the album is available along with all of Machine Head’s latest news at:


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