Search - Machine Head :: Supercharger

DECENT, BUT IRRITATING

experimusicdotcom | united kingdom | 10/15/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This bonus version comes in a nice shiny Orange digipack fold out box, and the bonus tracks contain 2 new tracks and 2 live tracks from 'The Burning Red'. This album was hotly anticipated by me. I've been a fan since they released 'Burn My Eyes', and have stuck with them through there change (selling out as some call it). I loved their soft 'meaningful' rock sound in 'The Burning Red' and hoped it would carry on in this new album. Indeed 3 of the 16 new songs (tracks 6, 11, 13) are soft rock tunes but transcend into nu-metal in the latter stages. If you can cope with the change in style then these songs are excellent. They are comparable to 'Cold'. The other songs are (nu) metal but only 5 out of 13 stand out, with only 3 of those five excelling. (Tracks 2, 4 and 7). The rest are quite boring and same-ish. The album is sometimes irritating as Rob Flynn's dark and energetic voice only appears in small quantities. The rest of the time he's either singing (and holding notes quite well), or trying out a Spineshank et al style of vocals. It would be better if he kept certain songs with just 'Burn My Eyes' style vocals, which i miss so much. In conclusion this album could have been much better but 6 quality tunes on a album is plenty. I give 3 stars because i'm comparing it to Machine Head's previous attempts. However compared with some metal-outfits now, this album gets 4 or 4.5 stars. Supercharger is definately recommended for new fans and some 'Burning Red' fans, but fans of there other two albums should stay away. PS. The bonus tracks are pretty poor but the 2 live ones are great."