Machine Head β The Burning Red
- intothewellsabyss
- Aug 11, 2023
- 4 min read
π πππ πππ ππππππ - πππππππππππ ππππ πππππ ππππππππ π’π§ ππ‘π πππππππ π¨πΒ ππππ ππππ & πππππ πππππβ¦
August 10, 1999 β Machine Head released their third studio album, The Burning Red via Roadrunner Records. (Apple Music or Spotify)
It is the band's second best selling album in the US, selling as many copies in three years as their debut album, Burn My Eyes sold in almost eight years (1994β2002).
The album has sold over 134,000 copies in the US and it was certified silver in 2011 by the BPI for sales of 60,000 in the UK.
The Burning Red was Machine Head's first album with guitarist Ahrue Luster, as well as their first venture into NΓΌ-Metal.
Background:
The album is considered NΓΌ-Metal. This departure from the band's Groove Metal style led to backlash from fans. Fans also complained about rapping heard in songs like From This Day (Watch video) or Desire to Fire.
Machine Head's drummer Dave McClain said;
"πΏππππππ ππππππ πππ πππβπ π πππ πππππ, π’ππ ππππ ? π΅ππ ππππππ ππ ππ ππππππ -ππππππ ππ πππ... ππ πππππβπ ππππππ ππ ππ πππ, π π ππππ π πβππ πππππ ππ ππππ ππππππ πππ π πππ ππππ ππππππ, πππ ππππ ππππππ πππππππππ’ π πππ ππππππππ’ πππ πππ π πππ ππππππ ππ πππ π ππππ ππππππ".
Robb Flynn, Machine Head's vocalist, said;
"πππππβπ π ππππππ πππ π ππππ ππ πππππππ ππ ππππ πππππ. πππ πππππ π»πΉ πππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ πππ ππππ π πππππ ππππ πππππ ππππππ ππππ π ππππ πΈ ππππππππππ-πππππ πππππππ ππ. πΈπ πππ ππππ ππππππ πππ πππ ππ [πππ π±ππππππ πππ] π ππ πππ-πΌππππ, ππππ ππππ’ ππππβπ πππππππ ππππππ ππ ππ"!
Machine Head guitarist Logan Mader quit the band in 1998 following the recording of their album The More Things Change... (according to the official Machine Head Facebook Page, he wrote the main riff for I Defy before his departure). As explained earlier, with the recording of The Burning Red, the band added new elements to its music, including a small amount of rapping vocals, a move which some believe to have been influenced by Luster himself. The album shows the band experimenting musically, using a disco drum line in The Blood, the Sweat, the Tears, putting some rapping vocals in Desire to Fire, and a layer of crooning vocals on Silver.
Citing the need for a few B-side tracks, producer Ross Robinson encouraged the band to record a smooth-sounding cover of The Police song Message in a Bottle after hearing Robb Flynn experiment with it during rehearsal. However, Flynn strongly fought against it being included on the album, and still does not think highly of the cover. The song ended up on the album, not used as a B-side.
Joel McIver, however, refused to label The Burning Red NΓΌ-Metal, and he wrote that anyone dismissing the album as NΓΌ-Metal has not listened to it, or is not a fan of the "πππππππππππ, πππππππππππ πΆπππππ-πΌππππ ππππ πΌππππππ π·πππ π πππ ππππππππ ππ ππ ππππ πππππ."
Rick Anderson of AllMusic called the album "π°ππππ-πΌππππ".
Responding to critics, McClain stated the band was not trying to emulate popular trends; they simply "π πππππ ππ πππππ πππππππππ".
Flynn said that the band had been pigeonholed by those who complained that the two prior albums were too similar to each other, so the band had determined to reach for different influences on this project.
Amy Sciaretto of CMJ said that, despite the presence of Robinson who had produced Limp Bizkit and Korn, The Burning Red shows the progression of Machine Head's own "ππππππππ, πππ-ππππππππ" sound rather than an imitation of Korn.
The song Five is about a sexual abuse incident Flynn suffered as a five-year-old child. Flynn said that recording the song was difficult enough for him; he would never perform it on stage.
Commercial Performance & Reception:
The Burning Red was added to US radio playlists on July 12, 1999, and was released for retail sale on August 9. The album was well received by critics and sold well, but the band's change in image and musical direction was highly criticized, with critics and fans alike accusing the band of "πππππππ πππ".
However, Rick Anderson of AllMusic was among those who praised the album, stating Machine Head was "ππππππππ π πππ ππππππ πππ ππππ πππππππππππ πππππππππ’ ππππ ππππ’ ππππ ππ πππ ππππ."
David Jarman wrote for CMJ that the album was "ππππππ’ ππππ π°ππππ ππππππππ-ππ-πππππ" for fans who were already familiar with the "ππππππππππ πππ ππππππππππ" of late-1990s Metal musical trends, but that listeners could expect to revel in the album's "ππππππππππ ππππππππ ππππππ."
The Burning Red became Machine Head's top selling album for a number of years, and debuted at No. 88 on the Billboard 200.
In 2019, Loudwire included Machine Head's Message in a Bottle cover on their list of the Top 55 Best Metal Covers of Classic Rock. They considered it to be part of a greater trend of NΓΌ-Metal Pop covers, but still said, "ππππ π΅ππ’ππ πππ πππππππ ππππ π ππππππππππ ππππππ ππ πππ πΏπππππβπ πΌππππππ ππ π π±πππππ, π ππππ ππππ’ πππππππ ππ πππππππππππ ππππ π πππ ππππ, ππππ-ππππππππ ππππ-ππππ β πππ ππππ ππππ."
Notice: Any reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. β E.N. Wells
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