C'mon people, let's be a little more open minded here. I recognize that Machine Head has the stigma of dabbling in nu-metal and having a few poor records but the impact of The Blackening on modern metal is undeniable. Look at any metal website and/or forum and people are still talking about it. I took a step outside of my comfort zone and listened through all the swedish death metal records from battles past and found that I really enjoyed them, so I encourage the rest of the participants to do the same. Now down to the battle.
Burn My Eyes is a decent album, but as others have stated it is in essence generic power groove that begins to meander at around the halfway point. I myself don't really like any of Machine Head's stuff prior to The Blackening so this battle is mainly between their last two albums for me. Unto the Locust has its moments with tracks like "I Am Hell" and "This Is the End" but there are the occasional filler moments. However, the musicianship is top notch and there are some epic thrash moments as well that deserve recognition.
That's all well and good but The Blackening is all-in-all a better Unto the Locust. It really marked a change in the bands sound as they moved more toward traditional trash than groove. The album is one of those albums that commands a listen through and not just song skipping. Rob Flynn's vocal dynamics and his employment of clean vocals at the perfect moments mesh well with the full on thrash attack that also follows a loud/quiet dynamic.
To me Blackening is a breath of fresh air in an age of metal where hardcore influenced metal reigns king and for that I thank Machine Head.
Burn My Eyes - 0
Unto The Locust - 0
The Blackening - 2
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