Listmania: 20 Years of “The Burning Red” from Machine Head!

As the bickering continues in the background with their now former Guitarist and Vio-lence man Phil Demmel talking to anyone who’s interested about the “Catharsis” album and why he and Dave McClain (now back in Sacred Reich) exited stage left, including this new article here, it’s time we did some celebrating. While the “Burn My Eyes” 25th Anniversary Tour will kick off in Europe on 5th October, their third album “The Burning Red” also reaches an anniversary this year, turning 20 having been released in 1999. The Ross Robinson produced effort is one of their most underrated. So here are 5 of our favourite Machine Head tunes…

1. “The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears” from “The Burning Red” has long been a fan favourite with “Tears” replaced by “Beers” in live performances. It got the music video treatment courtesy of Robb Flynn’s mother and a loan repaid in full after the failure of “Supercharger” and the band needing to get back on track…

2. “Imperium” from “Through The Ashes of Empires” is one that sets things off from the very start. It was the song that said the Oakland California band were back after the “Supercharger” incident and threw the guantlet down!

3. “Locust” from “Unto The Locust”. The album itself followed up a monster in “The Blackening” and is a much loved beast in its own right. A classic of longer songs, endless riffs and all the elements that make up Machine Head done better.

4. “Halo” from the aforementioned “The Blackening” is the melodic Iron Maiden inspired masterpiece that the band simply hadn’t attempted until this point and with an incredible sounding album it needed something that took a risk that paid off.

5. “Davidian” from “Burn My Eyes” is probably the song that Machine Head are best known for, a classic from a classic album and a huge influence on the Global Metal community. Who can deny the lyric “Let Freedom Ring With A Shotgun Blast” and it’s downtempo breakdown closing?