Machine Head - UNATØNED (Album Review)

Machine Head - UNATØNED
‍Released: April 25, 2025‍

Line Up

Robb Flynn // Guitars & Vocals
Jared MacEachern // Bass & Backing vocals
Matt Alston // Drums
Reece Scruggs // Guitars 

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It’s not always easy being a Machine Head fan. Despite what you might have heard over the last 30 plus years, Robb Flynn and company have regularly released some absolute classics since their debut Burn My Eyes, through their four album run from Through the Ashes of Empires to Bloodstones and Diamonds. But fans also need to acknowledge that Flynn isn’t above chasing trends (those nu-metal themed albums and 2018’s Catharsis). The band got it right on 2022’s ØF KINGDØM & CRØWN, which set the bar high for UNATØNED.

The absolute best parts of Machine Head are all over UNATØNED. Most songs combine thrash and groove with some gargantuan riffs, as they do on ‘Atømic Revelatiøns’ and ‘Unbøund’. Flynn’s history of getting a second guitar player who can wail continues with Reece Scruggs (ex-Havok), who lays down and duets with Flynn on some killer solos. The two absolutely blast away on ‘These Scars Wøn’t Define Us’ (presented here without the tour guests of the single version). Flynn’s gravelly growl is timeless when he has some angry lyrics to dig into, which makes ‘Addicted Tø Pain’ a delight that throws back to The Blackening’s energy. 

There’s something that holds the LP back and it’s the abrupt shifts that come when Flynn switches to clean vocals. He’s done a great job developing his cleans since he first nailed the cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’. He sounds great on the album’s lone ballad, the finale ‘Scørn’, which measures up to past work like ‘The Burning Red’ and ‘Darkness Within’, especially when it climaxes. But pretty much every other song will be going hell for leather and change key or tempo to fit in either a clean bridge or chorus. It happens to a lesser extent on the songs I’ve already mentioned. The opening of ‘Shards øf Shattered Dreams’ hits hard but loses steam at the hook. Single ‘Bønescraper’ is an offender too, with its intro and chorus feeling disjointed from the song’s killer riffing. The growl on the “love is just a loaded gun” refrain is unreal but the clean sections add more than the song probably needs. 

The other damage is done by some curious additions that distract more than come across cool, an issue that plagued Catharsis. ‘Øutsider’ packs in handclaps, string synths, and beats, which is unnecessary when the riff is meaty on its own. It’s one of the best clean choruses too but overall tries to fit modern metalcore trends. The same approach applies to ‘Nøt Løng For This Wørld’, a slower tune with good vocals but missing an edge. There’s a distinct Bring Me The Horizon feel to the intro and verse of ‘Bleeding Me Dry’ but from there it’s pure Machine Head and it’s glorious when they just be themselves. 

After eleven albums, Machine Head are always going to be a band that tries out different musical ideas. At their best they are all conquering and there’s at least five albums that prove that, with a couple of others being very good. UNATØNED is very good but with some unfortunate sonic detours that distract from the experience. It’s not terrible by any means but lacks that extra something that’ll keep it on repeat for the next decade. 

Rating: 7/10
‍UNATØNED is out April 25, 2025 via Nuclear Blast. Pre-Order here.
Review by KJ f’n Draven @kjdraven