Review: 25 Years of Burn my Eyes
Machine Head’s career has been fully revitalize with both the past and future clashing together for an incredible celebration of heavy music. After a few stumbles with the less than ideal 2018 album “Catharsis” and half of the previous lineup quitting the band in late 2018. We thought Machine Head was on the brink of extinction, but thankfully Robb Flynn has managed to turn things around and bring together an incredible celebration for fans to enjoy. With two full blown sets hitting Webster Hall and two different lineups playing some incredible music. 3/4’s of the original Machine Head lineup returned to play the debut Groove Metal classic, “Burn my Eyes”. While, the new lineup that was formed together in 2019 came forward to play a “Best Of” set-list that spawned an entire catalog of Machine Head hits.
The first set for Machine Head at Webster Hall featured a number of fantastic hits that fans would absolutely love. In the middle of all the insanity, vocalist & guitarist Robb Flynn preached to the crowd in a positive way to keep all of their fans in close company. As he paid respects to recent fallen heroes like Kobe Bryant, Neil Peart & Reed Mullin right before the 2011 hit “Darkness Within” came on. Robb Flynn commanded the crowd like a pack of wolves, every time the circle pit shout came from him, the crowd was restless and relentless. Everyone who was in the audience & mosh pit made sure that the chaos would continue throughout the blistering three hour set. The first set also featured the new Machine Head lineup which included Wacław Kiełtyka from Polish death metal act Decapitated & Matt Alston from the Melodic Death Metal band Sanctorum. Bassist Jared MacEachern who’s been in the group since 2013 rounds out the current lineup. All four of these members know how to put on one hell of a show as they blistered away with some incredible hits such as “Halo”, “Ten Ton Hammer”, “Imperium” “From This Day” & “Aesthetics of Hate”. Not one calm moment ensured during this set-list and it only got better once the second portion began.
Machine Head’s second set had their current members swap out for 3/4’s of the 1994 lineup that played on the debut groove metal masterpiece “Burn My Eyes”. Hearing this landmark album in it’s entirety was already a blessing for me, but to see nearly every member return to play this fantastic album was icing on the cake. With original members Logan Mader on guitar & Chris Kontos on drums coming through to provide their incredible skill once more. Within seconds of their opening track “Davidian” the pit uprooted into absolute chaos and Machine Head began to play another set filled with absolute insanity for the fans to enjoy. The entire album front to back was made to be heard in a live setting. Monstrous breakdowns, incredibly thrashy guitar riffs and machine gun like drum patterns filled the entire Webster Hall floor throughout that set. With amazing tracks like “A Thousand Lies”, “The Rage to Overcome”, “Blood for Blood” & “A Nation on Fire” Machine Head blasted away with this incredible album. Truly a set dedicated for the most hardcore of Machine Head fans.
Machine Head’s clashing of the past & present was an incredible showcase for many fans to experience. It’s very rare that a band can ever so sublimely go back to their roots but also keep together what works so well in the present. Machine Head truly gave it their all on that night and I’m glad that their legacy will always have an impact in the world of extreme metal.
