Reviews for November 14th, 2012

Machine Head – Machine Fucking Head Live

I am not generally a fan of live albums, but there are some bands, and some tours, which truly make for a great live album, and Machine Head just happens to be one of those bands, and any tour with Machine Head is bound to be memorable. I had the pleasure of seeing Machine Head on this tour, and to quote Buke from a texting session last night, this live album sounds “Like I’m standing in the pit singing along.” I have to agree; the sound is really good on this album, and listening to it transported me back to that amazing night back in February (which, by the way was when we had the honor of meeting the now late Mitch Lucker.) Follow this link to read about the show. For those who were not lucky enough to catch that tour, this is the next best thing to being there.

The regular version of “Machine Fucking Head Live” comes with 15 crushing tracks. My favorite track, (as with “Unto the Locust”) is “Who We Are.” Buke doesn’t like it because he says he can’t stand songs that have kids singing. He is entitled to his opinion, but for me, this fits right into the theme of the song and is very much appropriate. “Who We Are” should be THE anti-bullying anthem because it gives a voice to all those who have never managed to fit in with the herd.

The Special Edition of the album on iTunes comes with four extra bonus tracks. The first is a studio cover of “Alan’s on Fire” by Poison Idea, and the second is “My Misery” which was originally released back in 1995 on the “Demon Knight” soundtrack. The last two tracks are demo versions of “Locust” and “This is the End.” I bought this version of the album, because more Machine Head is always a good thing.

I simply cannot say enough good things about Machine Head. They have been bringing the metal for many years now, and I am so happy that these last two albums have brought them so much positive recognition. They are finally getting their due. \m/

“Machine Fucking Head Live” was released the same day that Machine Head announced they were dropping off the Dethklok tour. Main man Robb Flynn was trying to soldier through to the end of the tour, but was forced to pull out and is today having a double hernia operation to get fixed up and back in action. Speedy recovery to you Robb!

Torn the Fuck Apart – The Dissection of Christ

Winner of the “We Want to Offend Everybody” award is Kansas City’s Torn the Fuck Apart and their second album “The Dissection of Christ.” Not only do they drop the F-bomb in the band name but they vivisect the son of God in their album title. Makes me chuckle, it does.

One thing I have learned over the years is that the more extreme and offensive sounding the band, album or song title, the more they are trying to make up for on the music end of things. Sort of like guys with big trucks and small dicks. This is not to say that bands that do extreme music are all making up for some deficiency, there are plenty of quality bands who spew obscenity, but I am saying that there are a number of bands whose only redeeming quality is that ability to offend. I would not say Torn the Fuck Apart have no other redeeming quality, but based on listening to “The Dissection of Christ”, the ability to piss people off is their best attribute.

This is fairly mediocre death metal. The music is pretty stock sounding and the vocals are low and gravelly in the most generic way. The production is pretty decent, so I’ll give these guys they are still way better than a lot of the crap death metal out there, but they do not blow my kilt up either. They also rely on the other crutch of mediocre bands, and that is using clips from movies and other media. I recognized a line out of the “Detroit Rock City” movie, another featuring Samuel L. Jackson, and one or two that I believe were Bill Maher. Did they actually clear all these licenses? If they did I don’t expect they are making much profit on this album, because these songs are riddled with clips and that shit don’t come free.

The Fat Dukes of Fuck – Honey From the Lips of an Angel

I decided to pair The Fat Dukes of Fuck with Torn the Fuck Apart for The Day of Fuck Bands. When I received this album I decided to include it mostly to ridicule it, but upon closer inspection I have changed my mind.

I believe this is their first album. And gods help me I really hope that this is intended to be as amusing as it is. A little Googling gives me the impression that like Steel Panther and Tenacious D these guys have their tongue surgically attached to their cheek.

The music is kind of heavy, but the vocals make me think of a heavier Modest Mouse, a band for which my level of disdain knows no bounds. So while I can get behind their dick-joke humor the songs themselves just grate on me. I can’t listen to anymore of this.

I will give them credit for a pretty…um…interesting… video for “Cigarette” where puppets are seen having sex and snorting coke. Never seen a puppet penis? Just watch this video. He is the Tommy Lee of puppets. Warning, this video is amazingly graphic for being on YouTube. I cannot stress this enough.