Mind Noise Network
Machine Head & Darkest Hour
The Academy, Birmingham
by James Salt - 18 December 2014
It's been a while since Darkest Hour have graced these shores with their prescence - almost 3 years supporting the very same headliner as tonight to be exact.
They are pounding the packed Academy audience with their particular breed of Metalcore. Their performance may be lacking slightly, with frontman John Henry remaining very static, holding his mic stand throughout their 40min duration. But the majority of the crowd seem to love it, three or four circle pits even made an appearance.
Songs off their new self-titled album definitely hold up better than their older material - but there is no denying what an absolute belter "Love As A Weapon" really is. "With A Thousand Words To Say But One" seemed to leave the crowd happy...then the "Machine F**king Head!" chants start - any guesses as to who our headliners are tonight?
After a short wait the PA erupts with the sound of Ozzy's "Diary of a Madman" as MH take to the stage opening with the thunderous "Imperium" - and the crowd are in raptures. Circle pits the size of the room burst open as 3000 fans sing along to every word.
Following the departure of bassist Adam Duce and multi-million dollar lawsuit filed against the band by the same man shortly thereafter, it was all up in the air as to whether the band would continue or not. Judging by tonight, new four-stringerJared MacEachern has been fully accepted into the fold, as he performs with more vigour than his predecessor. You could definitely feel his onstage prescence more than Duce's.
The band are on fire, the opening track followed by fan favourite "Beautiful Mourning", new single "Now We Die", the classic "Bite The Bullet" and epic "Locust" are just a taste of what this evening is all about - a celebration of Machine Head's catalogue of classic heavy metal tunes.
They soar through a storming two and a half hour set, visiting modern classics such as "Night Of The Long Knives" and the dark, brooding atmospherics of "Sail Into The Black" alongside classic tunes "Davidian", "From This Day" and "Old".
Considering their new album "Bloodstone & Diamonds" isn't even 2 months old, the fans were singing along to every word of the new songs. This really seemed to rub off on frontman Robb Flynn as it only seemed to give him and his bandmates more adrenaline to thump through the set. Flynn appeared humbled by the response to every song all night, with the chants of "Machine F**king Head" ringing through the venue's four walls at the end of each tune. Possibly the only downside to the night's proceedings as it did get rather annoying - I think they know their name.
As they end the night with four JD + cokes being hurled at the front row and a blast of "Halo" the destroyed Academy is left with the hot stench of body odour and flatulence and the final echo of that very same chant that opened tonight - as one of the pioneers of metal in the modern era, there aren't many bands that can hold a candle to what Machine Head are capable of in the live arena, and it seems unkind that they should still be playing in a venue this size after the success of 2011's "Black Plague" arena tour. But this is definitely not the last time we are going to see Flynn & Co and if tonight is anything to go by, things will continue to only get better.
In the words of Robb himself "Cheers motherf**kas, cheers!"
â—„
1/20
â–º