I always go back and forth on who the most prolific band is within modern metal. After a while, I finally came upon Machine Head. The modern Thrash Metal giants carried the second generation of the Subgenre when Dimebag Darrel died. Even though their experimental journey of The Blackening is one of my favorite pieces of work, I can’t deny the masterful musicianship and storytelling of their first Concept album, 2022’s OF KINGDOM AND CROWN. To see the progressive nature of Machine Head, we must delve into the tracklist and analyze each song and the story of Of Kingdom and Crown.

“SLAUGHTER THE MARTYR”: 4

   This opening track takes its time thoroughly establishing the setting of a crimson-skied Wasteland. The track introduces the two main characters, Ares and Eros. Ares, within his grief, targets the love of his life’s killer, Eros. The presiding protagonist, Eros, witnesses the death of his mother, and he becomes blinded by vengeance and acts out with the murder of Ares’ love, Amethyst. It reminds me a lot of The Blackening, its perfect start. Robb Flynn and Wacław Kiełtyka’s guitarwork is crisp and a mainstay for the genre. Even with its length, I melded with it and it kept me attentive through its runtime.

“CHOKE ON THE ASHES OF HATE”: 4

   Listeners continue with a traditional feeling track. Even though it’s simplistic (at least within Machine Head), the arrangements are flipped on their heads. Robb Flynn and Wacław Kiełtyka’s riffs during the chorus are full but atmospheric, almost leaning on a Post-Metal sound. But the speed is from the drumwork of Matt Alston. He is oddly high on the mix, but creates a diversion for the listener. The song continues with Ares’ story, which is filled with revenge, all fueled by his mother’s death from drug abuse.

“BECOME THE FIRESTORM”: 5

   I absolutely love it when newer bands of a genre do a tribute-esque track from the bands that came before them. “BECOME THE FIRESTORM” definitely is the Bay Area Thrash song that the 80s were well known for. Practically, what established Speed Metal. It is Ares’ reflection of his revenge, which causes him to be engulfed by his vengeance. However, he tries to find justification and the official jumping-off point for his story.

“OVERDOSE”: 3

    The following track is an interlude. It does an effective job at transitioning out of the previous track and into the next. I feel like the lull in the momentum is nice since there was a lot to take in by the fourth track. Going back to before he kills Amethyst, this is where we meet Eros, at the worst moment of his life. This is where he loses his mother to a drug overdose.

“MY HANDS ARE EMPTY”: 5

   Wow. After three tracks of non-stop Thrash metal, I wasn’t expecting slower songs. Flynn and  Kiełtyka’s riffs manifest from the chugging speeds to sludgy slowness, teetering on the side of Doom Metal. The emotion of this song is raw, with Flynn showing his lightest to harshest of vocals on the track. One of the underdogs within the mix is Jared MacEachern and his lower-end basswork, providing an ominous cast throughout the track. Ares is left without someone important to him, his mother, who died from a drug overdose, and feels hollow, betrayed, and lost. He feels nothing but misery, withering in heartache’s embrace, and slowly succumbs to the darkness. It leads him to look for someone to blame; someone to hate and never forgive, even though her death was his own fault, as he had slowly been watching her drown in pills and medication addictions. 

“UNHALLOWED”: 5

   I absolutely love this switch-up. “UNHALLOWED” takes an odd approach, but I don’t think it’s necessarily unique to Machine Head. What I’ll say is the composition. The feeling of escalation within the track fits perfectly with the speed of their usual music. Flynn’s vocals remind me of the early 90s with the ambience-filled melody. Eros sinks deeper into depression and the collapse of his morals. This is where he enters the “depths of depression” stage. He describes himself as an “empty soul” and a “ghost of monumental failure,” indicating his deep sense of defeat and insignificance. Eros is just a shell of a man, but by the end, he seems to feel a sense of strength. Is it drawn from relief or something more malignant?

“ASSIMILATE”: 4

   Heading into the next interlude, “ASSIMILATE” is a spoken word with light instrumentation in the back. This is one of my favorite interludes out of any of the albums I have covered. I usually listen to this before I work out, since it’s an uplifting piece. It also serves as, yet again, a great transition and recovery from the slower pieces within the tracklist. 

“KILL THY ENEMIES”: 4

   Honestly, I was expecting the momentum to drop from the interlude, but somehow it got even more chaotic. It reminds me of Sepultura, with the more simplistic riffs, just with chunkier tones. The sludgier take provides a perfect contrast to “MY HANDS ARE EMPTY” with the Doom-esque feeling. Eros has now adopted their ideologies, joined the death cult, full of the tired and blind. Fear made them slaves to violence, making them ignorant of their white privilege, and believing wholeheartedly that a different kind has polluted the nation. He begins to follow the laws provided by a cult, mostly being against other races. These are all the laws the death cult that Eros has been assimilated into believes in. That last law, for interracial relationships, is the main cause of why Eros kills Amethyst, but not Ares.

“NO GODS, NO MASTERS”: 4

    Listeners return with a similar sound to “UNHALLOWED” with a melodic sound. It reminds me of Slyer with the fuller guitars. Its groove is a perfect meld between the first and second generation of Thrash Metal.“NO GODS, NO MASTERS” is a comparison that can be made between the two cities and the main characters: Eros being on the side of Gamorrah and Ares on that of Sodom. Eros, however, tainted Sodom through his actions, leading to them falling to a different sin, that being one of vengeance. Ares formed a group of revenge-seeking, justice-serving people, ruining his city’s name.

“BLOODSHOT”: 5

   One of the best parts of Machine Head is the ability to create similar-sounding music, but it isn’t ever monotonous. I believe it comes from how well they can apply their inspirations. “BLOODSHOT” combines the aforementioned Bay Area guitarwork with a Brit-Punk structure. The song illustrates the deadly confrontation of Eros’ death cult and Ares’ justice seekers. The name “Bloodshot” refers to their burning red eyes, full of tears of vengeance and forever blinded by revenge, blinded from guilt.

“ROTTEN”: 4

   Machine Head returns to form, and it’s a welcome addition. Even though it’s barebones, the tracklist is filled with variety. However, it dips into the structure of “BLOODSHOT” with a heavier application of Thrash Metal. The song signifies the end of the collapse stage of the third act. This song brings their hatred to the highest point, and how it has rotted everything away; they’re rotten to the core by pure hate. Their teeth are gritting with rage, their stomach tied in knots, and they both feel that they’re about to explode from the anger building inside. At this point, they’ve already jumped from the ledge and cannot undo their mistakes and actions. Yet, despite the hatred and aggression blinding them, part of them slowly realizes the mountain of regret they’ve accumulated.

“TERMINUS”: 4

   The last interlude of the record is a spoken word realising the internal regret where Ares and Eros both realize the crimes they’ve committed. Both think and speak as one, while Amethyst, and Eros’ mother, speaks to and comforts them. They ask why they did it, and both tell the two leads that they acted out of believing what they were doing was right. They also tell them that the cities of sin are of their own creation, and if they wish to forgive themselves and repent, the truth will set them free.

“ARROWS IN WORDS FROM THE SKY”: 5

   Moving on, this track came out of left field. I’ve never felt so torn emotionally.  It has an odd melody that sits in the ear,but it’s unique to the sub-genre. In a way, it reminds me of the earlier era of Melodic Death Metal, with the ambience-based choruses. The track follows Ares and Eros’ emotional conflict in “Terminus.” At this point, Ares and Eros have committed acts of violence in the name of lost loved ones, and are confronting the consequences of those acts. The mental anguish that clouded them begins to lift and brings a dawn to their darkest night. Both see the damage caused.

   Overall, this album puts the lyrical content and story at the forefront of the writing. The Metal community was divided down the middle, with some believing the musicality shouldn’t have been sacrificed for the aforementioned lyrics. The other side believed OF KINGDOM AND CROWN was a return to form for the band. No matter which side, it’s important to see the progressiveness and the masterful writing of Machine Head.