MACHINE HEAD Express 'Shock' And 'Disappointment' Over Album Review

October 29, 2003

MACHINE HEAD have posted the following statement on their official web site:

"In what came as a complete shock to band members, U.K.-based teen nu-metal weekly, Kerrang!, have absolutely savaged MACHINE HEAD's new album, 'Through the Ashes of Empires'. Referring to it as 'a directionless mess of an album', that is chock full of 'widdlesome solos and moments of musical 'complexity' that actually get in the way', and declaring it 'the sonic equivalent of eating last nights delivery pizza, reheated today'. Add to those comments the fact that they give the record a mere 2 'K's', only one 'K' above the worst Kerrang! review rating of 1 'K', which the UK magazine refers to as 'bollocks'.

"The review comes at a time when the international press is absolutely raving about MACHINE HEAD's 'Through the Ashes of Empires', calling it a return to form, with every single major metal magazine in the UK and Europe decidedly praising the record, with even the Australian edition of Kerrang! handing out a staggering 5 'K' review. Which, strangely, leaves K! writer Daniel Lukes as the only scribe to not only barely review the record, but out and out attack the band. MACHINE HEAD drummer Dave McClain called the review 'gutter journalism, closer to what you might find on an internet message board,' while frontman Robert Flynn simply added that the reviewer could 'suck our fuckin' dicks.'

"Even more confusing and bizarre, in the same review, Lukes incorrectly states that Kerrang! only awarded 1999's 'The Burning Red' a mere 3 'K's', when Kerrang! writer Mörat clearly awarded it 4 'K's' in his original review, declaring 'Indeed, if it weren't for [one song] 'The Burning Red' would, without doubt, be a 5 'K' album.' Some have speculated that showing the bands' declining 'K's' certainly made the review gel better with Lukes' 'story' of 'a band in decline', while most agree that it could have just been an editorial oversight.

"The review came as even more of a shock to the Bay Area Mob as Kerrang! are sponsoring MACHINE HEAD's tour of the UK, primarily, the two nearly sold out London gigs at the Carling Astoria which are Kerrang! X-fest dates.

"The band issued the following [comment] on the situation: 'While we are all a bit shocked, surprised and disappointed that this particular Kerrang! journalist has decided to attack us with such belligerence. We have many friends, supporters, and allies within the Kerrang! organization. Kerrang! have been champions of this band. And as music fans, we have been avid supporters of the magazine since its early days. While some within our own organization feel it would be completely justified, MACHINE HEAD have no intention whatsoever of severing Kerrang!'s involvement in our U.K. tour dates over something as petty and trivial as this. We hope that we can sit down soon, have a beer, a good laugh, and put this all behind the both of us.' "

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).