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machinehead_luxembourg2019Luxexpo The Box, Kirchberg, Luxembourg
27th October 2019
Machine Head - “Burn My Eyes” 25th anniversary tour

After the withdrawal of half the band and mixed reactions to the last album ‘Catharsis’ (2018) MACHINE HEAD are currently on a three-hour show tour in front of many full houses. First a new line-up fires out the greatest hits, then the original members of former times play the debut ‘Burn My Eyes’ on its 25th birthday. There was definitely enough Metal on Sunday on the Kirchberg at “An evening with...”

Undisputed masters of murderous riffs, pugnacious grooves and ferocious hooks since 1991, MACHINE HEAD are long established as one of the most influential and incendiary bands in the Metal world. Exploding into the world’s consciousness with 1994’s seminal ‘Burn My Eyes’ album, the now legendary Oakland crew brutishly redefined what it meant to be heavy, incorporating a wild array of influences into some of the sharpest and most brutal Metal anthems ever written. Nearly three decades later, the band founded and led by vocalist/ guitarist Robb Flynn has amassed an extraordinary catalogue of classic albums, while routinely enhancing an already formidable reputation as one of heavy music’s most powerful and relentless live bands.

Music & Performance
Just before 8pm OZZY OSBOURNE’s ‘Diary Of A Madman’ announced that it was time to start the evening. With ‘Imperium’ as a trustworthy opener, it immediately became clear that the first song was indeed one of the greatest hits. The line-up of Flynn, MacEachern, Vogg and Alston played well, there were obviously no start-up problems. From every album there was something on the setlist on Sunday evening. With three songs each, ‘The Blackening’ and ‘Unto The Locust’ were particularly well represented, but also less popular albums like ‘Supercharger’ and ‘The Burning Red’ were represented with one song of each. ‘Catharsis’ was there with one song, the title track. The first half hour was hard: ‘Take My Scars’, ‘Now We Die’, ‘Beautiful Mourning’, one heavy song followed the next, the sound was powerful, Flynn roared and the riffs flew. For ‘Darkness Within’ Robb Flynn came on stage with an acoustic guitar. Big number. Also ‘Ten Ton Hammer’ and the concluding ‘Halo’ hit the right notes. Then there was a ten-minute break. Phew.

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Meanwhile on stage a new backdrop with the iconic cover of ‘Burn My Eyes’ was hoisted. And then it started: ‘Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies’ sounded as an intro from the tape, immediately followed by the mighty ‘Davidian’, one of the biggest hits in MACHINE HEAD’s catalogue. So they really played the disc from front to back! From that moment on, there was no surprise coming. As expected, ‘Old’, ‘A Thousand Lies’ and ‘None But My Own’ followed, all grooving. A short drum solo after ‘None But My Own’ gave the rest of the band a short breather. But apart from that, MACHINE HEAD went through ‘I'm Your God Now’ breathlessly. Flynn and MacEachern still put a lot of energy into their second shift, Logan Mader and Chris Kontos shot fresh and without blame. Nobody looked rusty here.

The last song was ‘Block’. So one last time full pound ahead, with everything that goes with it: thick dropped tuning riffs, squeaking overtones, roaring and groove. By now it was after 11pm, and everyone was exhausted. With all love, with all competence, with all great songs: Three hours from the same band was a small challenge. Unfortunately, the evening had its lengths because of it. But basically you have to say: MACHINE HEAD have delivered a great show.

Setlist
01. Imperium
02. Take My Scars
03. Now We Die
04. Beautiful Mourning
05. Locust
06. This Is the End
07. I Am Hell (Sonata in C#)
08. Aesthetics of Hate
09. Guitar Solo
10. Darkness Within
11. Catharsis
12. From This Day
13. Ten Ton Hammer
14. Is There Anybody Out There?
15. Halo
16. Burn My Eyes
17. Real Eyes, Realize, Real Lies
18. Davidian
19. Old
20. A Thousand Lies
21. None but My Own
22. Drum Solo
23. The Rage to Overcome
24. Death Church
25. A Nation on Fire
26. Blood for Blood
27. I’m Your God Now
28. And then there were none (Exodus cover)
29. Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover)
30. Block

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.3 / 10

Picture by Elena Arens

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