Machine Head: "Unto the Locust"

"Unto the Locust" is possibly Machine Head's greatest opus. It holds it's own against their gargantuan release 2007, entitled "The Blackening." I had to take a break after each song because in typical Machine Head fashion, it was all out heaviness. Combining a sound of Slayer, Iron Maiden, Metallica, and Pantera, these guys make possibly the best album of their career. Songs like "I Am Hell" and "Pearls Before the Swine," for example, are amazing pieces. However, "Darkness Within", "This Is The End, and "Who We Are" are flawless. The latter having frontman Robb Flynn and mixer Juan Urteaca's children singing the beginning: "This is who we are/ This is what I am/ We have nowhere else to go/ Divided we will stand...," and then Robb joins, and all hell breaks loose. "Darkness Within" lyrically explains how music can save your soul, when nothing else will, it will be your savior. Robb sings: "...Because God is in these clef and tone/ Salvation is found alone/ Haunted by it's melody/Music, it will set you free/ Let it set you free..." Robb Flynn and lead guitarist Phil Demmel, trade off on some crazy guitar solos. You can feel each and every note on this album, you can feel the emotion of the lyrics, and you can tell it comes from their hearts. In the words of Mr. Robb Flynn: "HEADBANG MOTHERFUCKERS!!!" 10/10