Machine Head – UnatØNed Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier

If you take a step back—maybe a big one—Machine Head’s career is a rollercoaster ride through hell. And not always in a good way. After getting off to a good start and dropping two of their best records, dark clouds began to gather. The Burning Red rain came down on our heads, and the floods of the Supercharger drove torrents of radio-friendly, rap-metal destruction through the streets. Yet, they overcame and rebuilt, marching Through the Ashes of Empires and, “Clenching the Fists of Dissent,” putting The Blackening on “From This Day” forever. Or so we thought. After riding Unto the Locust, they arrived at a village where they purchased Bloodstone & Diamonds. But they were fake bullshit and the band got pissed. So they decided to unleash a Catharsis on diamond sellers everywhere. But they became “Volatile,” “Psychotic” “Bastards.” Plus, their Goodwill “Triple Beam” broke. So, two of their members left to look for wenches and beer while the others pushed on. ØF KingdØM and CrØWn, these two would not give up—even when all hoped they would. They pushed on, feeling their sins should remain UnatØNed, regardless of what anyone thinks. Someone find me a fucking priest!

While this year’s UnatØNed continues the stupid trend set by ØF KingdØM and CrØWn, using o’s with a stroke in their song titles, that previous album was a step up (though not by much) from Catharsis. While Catharsis was a vicious attack on the band’s fanbase, ØF KingdØM and CrØWn proved the band still had new ideas to put on tape. They also somehow convinced the mighty Vogg to contribute to the album’s guitar harmonies and dueling solos. They probably promised him wenches and beer. While the boat has not been set right since The Blackening, there was at least some positivity in the outcome. Without a concept or direction to drive UnatØNed, we are subject to twelve tracks and an hour of music written for Spotify playlists. Outside of the useless opener, the sad boi closer, and the stupid, mid-album instrumental, you can expect the verse-chorus-verse-chorus-dosomethingboring-chorus approach this time around. So, let’s get this over with.

After thirty seconds of pure boredom, “AtØMic RevelatiØNs” finally charges out of the gates in a surprising way. Not only is it one of the heaviest songs the band has penned in the last decade, but it actually got my air guitar going. It also uses a low, clean vocal approach with backing support to build this melodic beauty. Another bruiser that surfaces above the rest is “BØNescraper.” Though it uses those odd oooo’s from ØF KingdØM and CrØWn’s “My Hands Are Empty,” it has a crushing charge that builds up to the chorus nicely—even if said chorus sounds like Fozzy. You’ll also get a chuckle from the classic “Let freedom ring with a shotgun” vocal approach, but this time it’s, “Love is a loaded gun.” The award for most radio-friendly goes to “ØUtsider.” This annoying track is so undeniably catchy that it makes me both loathe and vehemently hate myself for liking it.

Now, let’s get to the part we all knew was coming. “Addicted tØ Pain” has to be one of the most boring tracks the band has released in a long time. It goes absolutely nowhere during its three-minute runtime and uses half-assed Trivium riffs for inspiration. It also contains some of the most cringeworthy lyrics on the album.1 The follow-up track, “Bleeding Me Dry,” is another that lacks any real soul. While the clean vocals swim sweetly through the effects-infused atmosphere, the rest of the song pounds away with outdated, early-2000s chuggery. This song also includes those death growls they’ve been experimenting with that, to this day, still don’t work. Lastly, I don’t even know what the fuck “Shards ØF Shattered Dreams” is trying to do. The chorus is a melodic delight that would shine higher if it wasn’t contemplating suicide as the out-of-place “speed” licks surround it. The worst part is that all these songs exist on the album’s backside, completely draining it of life.

With solid cuts in the front and lazy ones in the back, UnatØNed is an unbalanced mish-mash of singles and filler pieces. I hate to say it, and no one wants to hear it, but UnatØNed would have been a decent EP. Thankfully, this new record is better than Catharsis. I’m not sure I can survive another review like that again. For those who like the newer sound of Machine Head and stand confused as shows when they play “Davidian,” UnatØNed is probably for you. For those of us who walk out thirty seconds into “Crashing Around You,” it’s best to stay clear.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 256 kb/s mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: machinehead1.com | facebook.com/machinehead
Releases Worldwide: April 25th, 2025

#20 #2025 #AmericanMetal #Apr25 #Fozzy #GrooveMetal #MachineHead #NuclearBlast #Review #Reviews #Trivium #UnatØNed

Cabal – Everything Rots Review

By Dear Hollow

The struggle between viciousness and velocity is a storied one in the realm of deathcore, and Cabal is no exception in its battle between tone-abusing slogs and blazing blastbeats. Enacting a blackened deathcore attack that neglects orchestral atmospheres and paper-thin symphonics in favor of thick filth that covers every surface lead and fills every chugging crevice, it flaunts an arsenal of blackened chord progressions that lend a horror appropriate to its occult theme. The band has nevertheless toiled between the trenches of stagnation and devastation. Four albums in, expect filthy chugging aplenty, dark electronic flourishes abound, and a tasteful array of guest vocalists, all in service of a darker power. Business as usual.

In spite of its unmistakable filth that separates it from the likes of Lorna Shore, Worm Shepherd, or any of the other Deathcore Borgirs of the world, Denmark’s Cabal has a bit of a rollercoaster of a discography since 2018. Debut Mark of Rot was a simultaneously too-clean and too-dirty blend of down-tempo deathcore with blackened flourishes and a sterile djent guitar tone. 2020’s Drag Me Down amped the tempo with an unfuckwithable cutthroat quality that kept things fresh and brutal with spotlights of guests from Polaris, Møl, and Trivium. 2022’s Magno Interitus amped the tone with a lightless and mammoth foray into dark electronics that kept things interesting, although its more experimental pieces damaged its consistency. In this way, Everything Rots more seamlessly incorporates it into an over-the-top and absolutely relentless deathcore romp caked with Cabal’s suffocating trademark filth.

Like “Tongues” or “Demagogue” from Drag Me Down, Cabal manages to balance its absolutely crushing weight with a tasteful novelty in Everything Rots. While you’re guaranteed to be bludgeoned by breakdowns infused with the weight of Magno Interitus and pulverized by Andreas Bjulver’s husky roars, a heavier usage of blastbeats adds to the frenzy and the guest vocals add a dosage of well-placed freshness, not unlike Aborted’s latest. Injecting a hardcore call-out badassery (Viscera’s Jamie Graham in “No Peace;” Nasty’s Matthi Odysseus in “Unveiled”), rapid-fire groove (ten56.’s Aaron Matts in “Still Cursed”), and thick brutality (Aviana’s Joel Holmqvist in “Stuck;” Distant’s Alan Grnja in “Beneath Blackened Skies”). “Sort Sommer” (featuring hip-hop/punk duo Fabräk) has the same feel as “Blod af Mit” from Magno Interitus in its sudden embarrassment of nu-metal riches, but has been safely relegated to bonus track this time around. Cabal utilizes novelty as a reprieve to the relentless density that comprises its more straightforward pieces.

What’s consistently refreshing about Cabal is that their deathcore novelty is bolstered by a smart songwriting style that balances the meatheaded and the menacing. The best songs are those that are securely Cabal’s – in spite of the army of guests elsewhere – from the sweet placements of icy blackened chord progressions to mammoth breakdowns (“Everything Rots,” “Hell Hounds”). Compared to its predecessor, Everything Rots returns to what the band does best: being completely unhinged. It’s all about adrenaline-pumping intensity, pure gym-core, unshakeable groove populating its digestible tracks with a cold and intense melodic template (“Redemption Denied,” “End Times”). The electronic influence is far less jarring, adding a surreal pulse in addition to (instead of in replacement of) the deathcore intensity (“Forever Marked,” “Snake Tongues”).

Everything Rots will not sway your opinion on deathcore. It’s a meatheaded foray with enough chuggy breakdowns, brickwalled production, and vomitous vocals to kill an adult horse:1 A faster Black Tongue perhaps or a more blackened Humanity’s Last Breath. But armed with a blackened filth and a vocalist who could pass as his own arsenal of guest vocalists, Cabal’s got a trademark sound and a great interpretation of it. It’s a return to form for a band known for its balance, thanks to a cutthroat intensity that recalls the grandiosity of Drag Me Down. Dwelling in hell-scraping tone worship and tempo ignorance only when it benefits its occult aims, Everything Rots is a suffocating listen, smartly designed with necessary reprieves, with a must more tasteful electronic presence. It’s a brutal blackened deathcore album without all the symphonic bullshit. Deathcore fans rejoice!

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Websites: cabalcph.bandcamp.com | cabalcult.com | facebook.com/@cabalcph
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025

#2025 #35 #Aborted #Apr25 #Aviana #BlackTongue #BlackenedDeathcore #CABAL #DanishMetal #Deathcore #DimmuBorgir #Distant #Electronic #EverythingRots #Fabräk #Hardcore #HumanitySLastBreath #LornaShore #Møl #Nasty #NuclearBlastRecords #Polaris #Review #Reviews #ten56_ #Trivium #Viscera #WormShepherd