LIVE REVIEW: Machine Head @ O2 Academy, Bristol
It was a bit of a bumpy ride for MACHINE HEAD at the beginning of this year. Their Catharsis record wasn’t received as well as they might have wanted it to be, but then again, at this point in their career the band are used to people kicking up a fuss about what they put out. With such a varied back catalogue, the addition of another album’s worth makes their new touring approach all the more understandable, but even three hours can’t be enough sometimes.
Four years after the band previously graced Bristol with their presence, An Evening With MACHINE HEAD returns to the O2 Academy and with it they bring a mid week sell out crowd that’s tangible with excitement. Chants of ‘Machine fucking Head’ burst out as the shows start time looms, and then it begins. Imperium does what you would expect it to and utterly floor the rabid crowd before new comer Volatile and a regal Now We Die keeps the momentum at a monstrous high.
The set maintains its pace until the opening sample of Clenching The Fists of Dissent before it becomes apparent this was a mistake. Instead opting for This Is The End and it’s here where things take a slight turn for the worse. In terms of song choice it’s clear that Bristol have gotten the short straw with tonight’s set. Immediately following this Phil Demmel comes on stage to fiddle with his guitars volume knob for a few minutes culminating in one of the most redundant guitar solos we’ve heard. The same goes for Dave McClain’s drum solo later in the set, it feels like a cheap way to break up the set, as almost every MACHINE HEAD song features moments for every member to shine and show their chops without things getting messy and just wholly unnecessary.
Robb Flynn’s banter with the crowd is world class and a far better way to provide the breathing space needed. It’s a shame he only gives himself time to properly address the crowd three times, but there is plenty of times when the band vacate and black out the stage. It’s the moments of respite when the realisation of just how into the band tonight’s crowd are as they start chant after chant for MACHINE HEAD. There is still a limit though, as an ill placed Bastards kills any real momentum gathered up by a sensational rendition of Locust. A song like this, whilst being a bold choice to include, would’ve fared much better as a final set closer rather than acting as a speed bump in the set. This is the biggest problem with the set choice, as when it feels like the troupe are picking up pace there seems to be a roadblock preventing them from truly demolishing Bristol.
There are of course moments of absolute glory. Killers and Kings is as brutal as it’s title suggests and Darkness Within is utterly triumphant and probably one of the best songs the band have ever written. All of this is before tracks like Bulldozer, Davidian and Triple Beam all provide a late set burst of brilliance.
Before they end MACHINE HEAD shoehorn the beige Behind The Mask as another acoustic number before the final choice cuts of their set go deep into their debut, offering a particularly spicy rendition of Blood For Blood to make up for the wasted minutes. As the set gains another burst of momentum it becomes all the more clear how inconsistent the set was with regards to quality of song choice and set pacing. The crowd do go sufficiently crazy for the songs that provide the ideal moments and it’s genuinely awesome to see how mental people still go for MACHINE HEAD. The band do give those present a spectacular light show to boot as well that adds a fantastic visual element to all the songs.
As the anthemic and iconic riff for Halo brings the set to a close there’s a lot to reflect upon. Yes, too much of a good thing exists. Given the set choice, a more finite amount of time might have meant a more refined song selection and better pacing, but with that said the deep cuts played are definitely welcome. The deep cuts only go so far though, as there is a clear difference between better songs the band have written and some of those that were given air time in tonight’s show. Only a band like MACHINE HEAD can pull of a gig structure like this, and they benefit from a varied back catalogue, but there is still streamlining to be had.
Rating: 7/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Bristol from Normandy Photography here:
