Catharsis (Machine Head album)

Catharsis is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Machine Head, released on January 26, 2018.[4] The album is the first to be completely co-written by all of the band's members since The More Things Change... (1997), and is the final Machine Head studio album to feature drummer Dave McClain and guitarist Phil Demmel, both of whom left the band less than a year after its release.

Catharsis
Studio album by
Machine Head
ReleasedJanuary 26, 2018
StudioSharkbite Studios, Oakland, California
Genre
Length74:26
LabelNuclear Blast
Producer
Machine Head chronology
Bloodstone & Diamonds
(2014)		 Catharsis
(2018)

Musical style

In November 2017, frontman Robb Flynn explained that the album's sound would be less heavy than previous efforts, with emphasis on being "very grooving and very melodic". As a result, the songs are more structurally simplistic as well as being shorter, an approach that Flynn also tried to incorporate into the lyrics, finding hip-hop and hardcore punk as influences:

I don't listen to a whole lot of metal — I'm being straight with you. To me, a lot of it doesn't interest me, a lot of the lyrics don't interest me. I listen to a lot of hip-hop. I grew up on a lot of hardcore, punk rock, hip-hop, and I just love... Love it or hate it, I love just the fucking direct, ignorant-ass lyrics of hip-hop. It's very clear, it's very blunt; there's no metaphors. Metal's full of metaphors. We've been singing about the same shit now for 30 fucking years and I get a little bored with it. And with this record, I really wanted to just strip it down and make really clear, really simple, really blunt... Especially my choruses, just really clear... Like, you know what the fuck I'm talking about exactly when I'm talking about it. And it's cool. Like real vulgar language and coarse language, and it's a good vibe, man.[5]

The song "Beyond the Pale" was met with minor controversy when it was pointed out that the main riff bears similarities to the main riff in Strapping Young Lad's "Love?"; former Strapping Young Lad frontman Devin Townsend acknowledged the similarities, but stated that "Love?"'s chorus was "ripped off" from the song "City of Love" by Yes; Flynn also joked that "The 'riff police' pulled me over", and that while admitting to the similarities, he claimed it was "just a happy accident".[6]

In February 2019, former guitarist Phil Demmel said that he hated the direction of Catharsis in an interview with the "Talk Toomey" podcast, explaining:

There's moments of what I wrote that I like. I wrote most of the music to "California Bleeding", but then [Flynn] wrote the lyrics on top of it that I just wish that… Me and Dave [McClain, drums] talk about it, like, 'Fuck! I wish I could take my riffs back.' [Laughs] 'No, that isn't what we want them used for.' So, I think, in that sense, it just became a Robb Flynn solo project, and that isn't what I signed up for.[7]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Blabbermouth.net5.5/10[8]
Kerrang!
Metal Hammer7/10[9]
Metal Storm3/10[10]
Sputnikmusic[11]
Worship Metal7/10[12]

Critical reception of the album was mixed to negative. In a review by Jay H. Gorania for Blabbermouth.net he wrote, "Catharsis is a bold move. It's just the wrong move. That's what's most disappointing and frustrating here: The wasted potential of what could have been."[13] Writing for Loudwire, Chad Bowar wrote, "There's a regular album length's worth of excellent songs, but the quality of Catharsis is diluted by that other 30 minutes or so and hampered by a lack of cohesiveness."[14] In a positive review for Metal Hammer, Eleanor Goodman wrote, "Catharsis is Machine Head with the brakes off, freewheeling through past and present as they see fit," and "Robb's said he's got no plan for Machine Head's future, and perhaps that's why the record lacks some coherence, but their rebellious spirit nevertheless remains strong."[9] By contrast, Jeff Treppel of Decibel Magazine gave the album a "shrug emoji" out of 10, calling it "a 74-minute rap metal album with a song that sounds like the Dropkick Murphys in the middle," and that "none of it feels half-assed; these are clearly well-crafted songs. It’s all just so stupid... this is a Super Collider-level miss from a band that seemed to have ditched this phase long ago."[3]

Catharsis would go on to become Machine Head's best international chart debut, debuting at number three in Germany, number 10 in Australia, and number 12 in the UK.[15]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Robb Flynn; all music is composed by Flynn, Dave McClain, Phil Demmel and Jared MacEachern.

No.TitleLength
1."Volatile"4:39
2."Catharsis"6:11
3."Beyond the Pale"4:31
4."California Bleeding"4:12
5."Triple Beam"4:41
6."Kaleidoscope"4:04
7."Bastards"5:04
8."Hope Begets Hope"4:30
9."Screaming at the Sun"3:55
10."Behind a Mask"4:07
11."Heavy Lies the Crown"8:49
12."Psychotic"5:02
13."Grind You Down"4:07
14."Razorblade Smile"4:00
15."Eulogy"6:34
Total length:74:26

Personnel

Charts
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 10
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 25
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[20] 38
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[21] 19
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[22] 41
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 3
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[25] 21
Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] 52
New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[27] 6
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[28] 21
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[29] 11
Scottish Albums (OCC)[30] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[31] 25
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 12
US Billboard 200[34] 65
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References
  1. "Catharsis by Machine Head". Metal Storm.
  2. "Machine Head, 'Catharsis' - Album Review". Loudwire.
  3. "Decibel Magazine Slams Catharsis". Machine Head. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
  4. "Catharsis". machinehead1.
  5. "ROBB FLYNN Discusses MACHINE HEAD's 'Very Grooving' And 'Melodic' New Album 'Catharsis': 'This Isn't Us At Our Heaviest'". BLABBERMOUTH.net.
  6. "Did Machine Head Steal a Riff from Strapping Young Lad? Robb Flynn and Devin Townsend Respond - MetalSucks". 17 November 2017.
  7. "PHIL DEMMEL Says MACHINE HEAD 'Became A ROBB FLYNN Solo Project'". BLABBERMOUTH.net.
  8. Gorania, Jay. "Machine Head - Catharsis REVIEW". Blabbermouth. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  9. Goodman, Eleanor (February 2018). "Machine Head Catharsis". Metal Hammer. No. 305. United Kingdom: Future Publishing. p. 82. ISSN 0955-1190. OCLC 775087096.
  10. "Machine Head - Catharsis". Metal Storm. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  11. Geriak, Christopher. "Machine Head - Catharsis album review". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2018-01-26.
  12. Jennings, Chris. "Machine Head - Catharsis album review". Worship Metal. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  13. "Catharsis - MACHINE HEAD". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  14. "Machine Head, 'Catharsis' - Album Review". Loudwire. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  15. "Catharsis Debuts Highest Int. Chart Entries in History!!". Machine Head. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  16. "Australiancharts.com – Machine Head – Catharsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  17. "Austriancharts.at – Machine Head – Catharsis" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  18. "Ultratop.be – Machine Head – Catharsis" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Machine Head – Catharsis" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  20. "Machine Head Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  21. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201805 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Machine Head – Catharsis" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  23. "Machine Head: Catharsis" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Machine Head – Catharsis" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  25. "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2018. 5. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  26. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 6 (dal 2018-02-02 al 2018-02-08)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  27. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 5, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
  28. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  29. "Portuguesecharts.com – Machine Head – Catharsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  30. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  31. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 5: del 26.1.2018 al 1.2.2018" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  32. "Swisscharts.com – Machine Head – Catharsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  33. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  34. "Machine Head Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
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