Ten songs to listen to by
1) Davidian (Live) (Hellalive)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z10qjQn9tfM
First of all, any existing Machine Head fans may be wondering why I haven't chosen the album version of their opening track from their Burn My Eyes Debut. Both are awesome, but the reason I chose the live version is simple: I was at the gig it was recored at. Hearing the opening still sends shivers down the spine; it's the audio equivalent of being hit by a wrecking ball
2) Deafening Silence (Supercharger)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJa8-bO9Rbw
Personally, I enjoyed this album, although I appreciate I am in the minority, as it saw the band depart in a nu-metal direction. Either way, most agree this was a great song, complete a brilliant slow burning solo
3) The Burning Red (The Burning Red)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnsaYK1hy64
Different to anything they had tried before, this slow, brooding closing track chronicles the thoughts of a dying or suicidal man. Contrasting brilliantly with the other songs here, the live version comes highly recommended as well
4) Halo (The Blackening)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ECl8_XL2c (live)
Off their latest album, this is Machine Head at the top of their game. Melodic yet heavy, complex yet catchy, this could be the best track on an album the band have described as their version of 'Dark Side of the Moon'
5) Imperium (Through the Ashes of Empires)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPFPRSZDXp0
Stung by criticism of Supercharger, and dropped from their label the band took a long hiatus. Many, me included, thought it was pretty much the end of the road for them as a creative force. Few expected them to returned with an all new approach, more confident and uncompromising than ever. Gone was the short, formulaic nu-metal sound, in was a complex, epic one more akin to Cult of Luna or Opeth. This opening track perhaps defines the essence of the band, building slowly, both light and heavy, and with a sublime riff halfway though, with the sounds of critics being silenced spread throughout
6) Descend the Shades of Night (Through the Ashes of Empires)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xh1DQR7H2KE
Perhaps my all time favourite Machine Head track. Starting off acoustically and ending with crushing heaviness. The perfect end to a near perfect album
7) Ten Ton Hammer (The More things Change)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlzZ4z1YA7I
The follow up album didn't quite work as well as the debut, but it still had some good songs. This is the opener, and shows the beginnings of a shift from their death metal-esque beginnings
8) All in your Head (Supercharger)
The leftfield choice; a little known track form an unloved album. Dealing with the failure to explain your feelings to others, this sits well up my own top 10
9) Aesthetics of Hate (The Blackening)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1vHa00NDlY
Another slice of their latest album. A white hot blast of hate and anger
10) Blood for Blood (Burn My Eyes)
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEGtjkuuPMk
To round things off, a little number from their acclaimed debut. Brutal and uncompromising in every way.
Finding videos was pretty hard, the majority of those links are live versions or edits, hence different from the album